
Class , P 7 H- 







REV THOMAS J\LLEN_ 



PROCEEDINGS 



IN COMMEMORATION OF 



THE ORGANIZATION 



IN IMTTSFIELt), FEBRUARY 7, 17fi4, 



OF TIIF. 



FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST 



February /, i88(). 



1 •>,•••,' 1 



riTTSKIELD, MASS. 
,.RKSS OY TlIK SUN I" R I N T I N G COMTANY. 

i88<). 






'01 

PRAYER FOR CHURCH AND TOWN. 



[On the 125 Anniversary of the Founders of the First Church hi Pittsfield, 
February 7, 1764.] 

Lead on, great God ! lead on her shining way 

Our fathers' church ! Oh, keep her near to Thee 

As she grows old ! Inspire her sons to be 

First Thine, and then their country's gallant stay. 

Breathe through their hearts on this its founders' day 

The faith their fathers had in Calvary — 

Unfold to them the immortality 

Of dying aspiring. Lead on alway, 

Great God ! Lead on our much loved town, 

Freeborn twin sister of this ancient shrine. 

Clothed in the splendor of Heaven's best dress 

The pure majestic robe of righteousness 

Lead them along ! still glorying in the line 

Of manly dead, who won them their renown. 

Morris Schaff. 



ADDRESS. 

BY RKV. J. L. JKNKINS. 



Tlic First Cliurch of Christ in Pittsfiekl was organized Feb- 
ruary 7tli, 1764, one Imndred and twenty-five years ago to-day. 
Its organization ante-dates tlie Declaration oi Indei)endeiice l)y 
twelve years; the adoption of the Federal Constitution by 
twenty-four years. It was tliree years after the incorporation 
of the town of Pittsfield and three years after the creation of 
the County of Berkshire; tliirty years after the organization of 
tlie church in Stockljridge, twenty -one years after that in Great 
Barrington, and six after that in Becket. The three named 
churches were present l)y pastors at least at the organization of 
this church. The settlement of Pittsfield began in 1752. After 
twelve years of struggle and of the oi-dinary frontier vicis. 
situdes, there were in the town in the year 1764, the 
year in which the church was organized, l)etweeTi three hun- 
red and five hundred inhal)itants, most of M'hom lived in log 
houses. When Thomas Allen, the first minister came here in 
1763, his son says "All the houses of the village were made of 
logs excepting half a dozen." The hundred or more log houses 
were far apart and most of them were at the western or eastern 
extremities of the town. To accommodate the widely separated 
inhabitants the first meeting house w;is ])laced in the center, not 
far from the site of this l)uilding. Its story and that of its suc- 
cessors will be told by another this afternoon. 

The ju-oprietors of the settling lots in the township of Pon- 
toosuck, held their first legally called meeting Sejit. 12, 1753. 
According to the warrant, dated July 30, 1753, the meeting is 
to be held as soon as circumstances will admit at the house of 
Ml-. Klias Willanland for the following purposes among others: 
''To see what money the ])ro])rietors of the settling lots will 
raise to procure sumc snitalile person or persons to preach 



among ns." "To consider of the nietliod tliey will go into to 
erect a meeting lionse and raise sncJi sums of money as they shall 
think proper for defraying tlie charges thereof." 

From a mannscript sermon preached Aug 26, 1883, on the 
eightieth anniversary of the church in Pittsfield, Vermont, Ije- 
tween which church and this were intimate relations at its begin- 
ning, I make the following extract : '' It was a characteristic 
of the settlers in those days that they did not wait for pressure 
from without and the promise of funds before establishing 
churches. The settlers themselves were ready to go ahead with 
the woi'k." 

Perhaps the Pittsfield people in Vermont learned tliis prac- 
tice from the Pittsfield people in Massachusetts, at least, it was 
the way here. 

The vote to secure a suitable person to preach was passed 
September 12, 1753, and the same year Rev. Cotton Mather 
Smith was invited to Pittsfield, or as it was then called Pon- 
toosuck, to preach as a probationer or candidate. A word or 
two must in passing Ije given to the man who was the first clioice 
of the people here for minister. Cotton Mather Smith was 
born in Suifield, Conn., Oct. 26, 1Y31. He was twenty-two 
years old when asked to come here and preach. He graduated 
at Yale in 1751, when twenty years old, went to Hartford to 
study Theology and while studying there was invited to take 
charge of a school for Indians in Stockbridge. It is probable 
that while in Stockbridge, he was called here. He was an 
unusual man, an athlete, a muscular Christian. He gained power 
over the Indians by equalling or excelling them in feats of 
strength. When a pastor in Sharon, Connecticut, he went in 
person to the haunts of vice, astounding and confounding his 
guilty parishioners. He was a Patriot, served as chaplain in the 
Revolutionary War, contracted in the service disabilities from 
which he never recovered. He is reported to have been a man 
of great refinement of mind and manner. The original settlers 
here were discerning men. They began the search for a min- 
ister by seeking the best. They spent thirteen years in the 
search. They survived thirteen years of candidating, — a remark- 
able testimony to their cohesion and endurance. 



The iiiiuiL's (.f certiiiii caiididati's liiivc dccii preserved. In 
1759 a Mr. Clark preached, but was not called. The next year-, 
17^0, Rev. El)ene7X'r Garnsey ])reaclied four months. It was 
proposed that he should l)e examined l)y the upi^er Association 
of ministers in Hampshire County. This he would not consent 
to. He did not come to Pittstield. In 17f)l, Rev. Enoch 
Huntington, of Middletown, Conn., was invited, but declined. 
Rev. Amos Tompson was the next unsuccessful candidate, fol- 
lowed by Daniel Hopkins, l)rother of Samuel, the great divine, 
of Great Harrington. Mr. Daniel (^jllins, long the pastor at 
Lanesboro, was next in (»rdei-, but failed of settlement. The 
difficulty of settling a minister, the Pittstield historian says, was 
theological not pecuniary. 

In 1763, Thomas Allen, aged twenty, came to Pittstield, (the 
name Pontoosuck was changed to Pittstield in 1761.) The 
coming of this young man of twenty, one year out of college, 
is one of the great events in the town's history. Much of its 
history was determined by it. 

"On the 9tli of December, 1768," (T quote from the History 
of Pittstield,) '^Tlie town decided to invite Mr. Thomas Allen, 
of Northampton, to preach as a probationer, and his ministry in 
that capacity was signalized by the formation of the church, — 
a duty which it seems had, up to this time, been singularly 
neglected." 

Their method of forming a church was on this M'ise: Eight 
men were found among the men of the town to serve as Fovn- 
clation Men — a happy use of Lord Bacon's term. We recall 
and honor these men to-day. We write their names on shields 
and hang them in the House of the Lord. 

Stephen Crofoot came from BeUhertoiov and had served as 
deacon in the church there. 

Aaron Baker, WiU'iam Phelps, Lemuel r/ielps, Alnat/ian 
Phelj>s can)e from Northampton ; Ephraim Stiles m\(\ Daniel 
Iluhhard cami' fi-om Westjidd ; and Jacob Eiisitjn from 
WethersjieUh Conn. All from " the fat valley of the Coimecti- 
cnt" as it was called. 

What is known of these eight '^ Foundation Men^' M-ill be 
told by another this afternoon. Upon what principle the eight 



6 

were selected I do not know, l^o.ssibly they were men who 
had made up their minds to locate and remain in Pittsiield, 
while others may have been nudecided. They may have been 
men interested in chnrch affairs before coming here. They 
may have been thought l)y their fellow-townsmen especially 
(pialified to act as " Foundation Men " and so were chosen for 
the service. Whatever the reason of the selection, the eight 
men chosen as "• Foundation Men," were 

Stephen Crofoot, Jacob Ensign, 

Ephrain Stiles, William Phelps, 

Daniel Hubbard, Lemuel Phelps, 

Aaron Bakrr, Elnathan Phelps. 

What is more important than the names of these men is their 
faith, belief. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth. 
What truth had these men as that upon which they would 
found a Church of Jesus Christ? On this matter there is no 
ignorance. I read the paper signed by the eight "Foundation 
Men." It has two parts, a Creed and a Covenant. 

" February 7, 1764. At a meeting of a numl)er of mem])ers 
belonging to different clmrches, at the house of Deacon Cro- 
foot Feb. 7, A. D. 1764, being present the Rev. Samuel Hop- 
kins, of Great Barrington, Rev. Stephen West, of Stockbridge, 
and Rev. Ebenezer Martin, of No. 4. After a confession of 
Faith and Covenant was drawn up, a number of said members 
did then and there unite, so as to form a Church of Christ in 
this place and subscribed to the Articles of Faitli contained in 
that Confession and the obligations of said Covenant, which are 
as follows : — 

A CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

We do believe that- there is one God, wlio is tlie only living and true God ; 
who exists of Himself, without beginning or end, intiiiitely perfect and glori- 
ous, and unchangeable in His Being and perfections ; that He is independent 
and all sutficient, and all things else depend wholly on Him as their Creator, 
Preserver and the Sovereign Disposer of them. That this one God subsists in 
a mysterious and incomprehensible manner in Three Persons, distinguished 
in Holy Scriptiu-e as Father, Son and Holy Ghost ; that these three Persons 
are one Grtd, and equal in all divine perfections and glory. 

That God has made a particular revelation to mankind in the Book we 
call the Bible, which is a perfect, sufficient and unerring rule, given by in- 
scription from God— and is the only rule to be relied on in matters of religion. 



That God exercises a moral Govornnient over His rational creatures in giv- 
ing laws to them and in finally judging them, and r(;warding or punishing 
them, according to the Holy Law. That this law is an eternal and most per- 
fect and unalterable rule of righteousness, re(|uiring iicrfcct, persevering 
obedience upon pain of eternal damnation. 

Tliat God made man at fir.st perfectly holy and happy and apponited Adam 
the first parent of mankind to be the head and representative of all his pos- 
terity ; so that they should be happy in his obedience, if he persevered in per- 
fect holiness, or fall with Him into a state of sin and guilt and utter ruin, if 
he should transgress God's law. That our first parents sinned and in conse- 
quence of this, by a holy and wM.se constitution, all mankind, their natural 
posterity are born in sin and guilt and arc become justly deserving of God's 
wrath and curse forever. 

That God has of His mere sovereign grace found out and entered upon a 
method to save man from the state of guilt and ruin in which he naturally is, 
so as at the same time to maintain the honor of His law and govcriwnent, by 
a Mediator. That this Mediator is the Second Person in the Trinity, the eter- 
nal Son of God, who by taking the human nature into a personal union with 
Himself, is become truly man and has by dying suffered the cur.se of the law 
and yielded a perfect and glorious obedience to it, in our stead. 

That having made expiation for sin by His death and brought in everlast- 
ing righteousness by his obedience, he rose from the dead, and a.scendcd into 
the heavens and is seated at the right hand of God to reign as King of Heaven 
and Earth till all things shall be put under His feet, and is able to save all 

that come to God bv Him. 

That every one who beheves and truly trusts in Him or accepts of Him as 
He is offered in the Gospel, shall be pardoned and received to favor, liow- 
ever guilty and unworthy in himself ; purely and only on the account of His 
merit and worthiness. Yet their obligations to perfect confoimity to its pre- 
cepts are not in the least removed ; they, therefore, will not be sinless until 
they are brought to perfect obedience to God's law wliich none attain to in 
thi.s life ; but are sinfully defective in all their holy exercises and actions. 

That as the promises of the Go.spel are made to truly holy exercises, and 
none but .such can have any evidence of their interest in Christ but by a cou- 
.sciousness of their own holy exercises and by coming to a certain knowledge 
of this, as they may, they may obtain an as,surance of their own salvation. 

That Jesus Chri.st has a true Church in the world which He will maintain 
and build up until it shall be brought to its perfect and most glorious state. 

That at the last day (lirist will raise the dead and judge the world and 
doom the wicked to everlasting destruction ; and receive the redeemed to tlic 
hapi^incss jind glory of His Eternal Kingdom. 

(Signed.) Stephen Crofoot, 

EpiiUATxr Stiles, 

D.VNIEL HURIJAUD, 
A.\U()N B.\KEK, 

J.vion Ensign, 

WlI.LI.VM PlIKLPS, 

lacMiHL Phelps, 
Elnath.xn Puelpb. 



A COVENANT. 

We whose names are hereto subscribed, looking on ourselves as under obli- 
gations to enter into a religious society, so as to form a Church of Christ in 
this place, do now seriously and solemnly acknowledge our obligations to the 
Lord and do, so far as we know our hearts, cheerfully devote ourselves to 
God through Jesus Christ. We do renounce all the ways of sin and give our- 
selves up to God, choosing Him as our Lawgiver and portion. 

Sensible of our own blindness, guilt and infinite unworthiness, and corrup- 
tion, we choose Christ for our Teacher and rely on His merit and worthiness 
alone for pardon and acceptance with God, and receive the Holy Spirit as our 
Sanctifier, heartily embracing the way of Salvation revealed in the Gospel. 

We take God's Holy Word to be our only rule of faith and practice and 
solemnly engage by the help of His grace, to conform to it in all the ways of 
holy living, and we promise and engage to maintain and constantly and faith- 
fully attend upon all the institutions and ordinances of the Gospel, particularly 
public worship and the strict observance of God's Holy Sabbath. And we en- 
gage to maintain family and secret religion and faitlifully and jiainfuUy to int 
struct, educate and govern our children and all that shall be under our care. 

We also covenant with one another to walk in a church state in all mu- 
tual helpfulness, watching over and admonishing one another and faithfully 
and impartially to exercise the discipline of Christ's House according to the 
rules of His Holy Word, so far as we shall understand it ; and meekly to sub- 
mit to the same, taking constant care to walk orderly in all things, so far as 
to give occasion of offence to none. 

And we now publicly espouse and engage in the Cause of Christ in this 
town promising to be faithful to the same and to endeavor to promote it in all 
proper ways, especially seeking to recommend our holy religion to all by our 
strict and constant practice of justice, goodness, temperance, sobriety and 
godliness. 

All this we do in humble dependence on Jesus Christ, praying that He 
would enable us to be faithful in His Covenant, strengthening us unto every 
good work to do His Will, working in us that which is well pleasing to Him. 

To whom be glory forever. Amen. 

Signed, Stephen Crofoot, 

Ephkaim Stiles, 
Daniel Hubbard, 
Aaron Baker, 
Jacob Ensign, 
William Phelps, 
Lemuel Phelps, 
Elnathan Phelps. 

After the said Confession of Faith and Covenant were sub- 
scribed by the persons before mentioned, a lecture was preached 
at the meeting house by the Eev, Mr. Hopkins from these 
words : ii Corinthians 3, 5, " And this they did not as we 



9 

lidpcMl, hut first ii'uvc! tiK'iiiselvcs to the Lonl.jmd iiiit(» ns Ity the 
Will of God."' 

Afterwards they were declared to he a C/i/xrch of Chriat. 

I am indehted to Rev. Dr. Rowland, of Lee, for iiiforuiatioii 
tliat makes certain the aiithorshi]) of the foregoing document. 
It is the same Creed and Covenant, used at the organization of 
tlie cluirelies in Lee and Lent^x; and there is the wholly trust- 
worthy authority of the late Dr. Hyde, of Lee, that they 
were the work of that eminent divine, liev. Samuel H(jpkins, of 
Great Barrington. 

The Creed, with some peculiarities of phraseology, with insis- 
tence upon some minor ])oints, is for the time and circumstances, 
a fair end)odiment of what has always heen the Catholic Faith 
of the Christian Church. Tlie fathers in tlie wilderness believed 
W'ith all saints. 

The Covenant, tliough made less of than the Creed in theo- 
logical discussions, is the more important. A saying of Prof. 
Schaff is pertinent. "A Covenant is the ethical ai)plication of 
the dogmatic Creed." Of tlie original (Covenant no man need 
be ashamed. Let me read its close: "AVe do now publicly 
espouse and engage in the Cause of Christ in this town, — prom- 
ising to be faithful in the same and to endeavor to promote it in 
all proper ways, especially seeking to recommend our holy relig- 
ion to all ])y our strict and constant practice of justice, good- 
ness temperance, sobriety and godlinesss." 

It was something in the beginning of a town's career to have 
even eight men solemnly confederated together for such an end. 
It was a wise procedure on the i)art of the founders of the 
chui'ch to submit their work to men wi'll reported of in neigh- 
boriui;- churches, that, if approved, it might thereby have 
sti'onui'r couniiendation. Three ministers were in town one 
hundi-ed and twenty-five years ago to-day, and two(»f them were 
irreat and famous men. If god-fathers serve the child, this 
church was well served when its l»eginning was a])proved by 
Samuel Hopkins, Ste})hen AVest and their less famous associate, 
Ebenezer ^lartin. No bisho[)s li\ing then or since, or before or 
now c(»uld im])art more ap()stolic grace to an infant chni-ch. 

The eight *' Foundation ^Men," having signed Creed and Cove- 



10 

uaiit, in the house of Deacon Stephen Crofoot, came witli others 
to tlie meeting house and here Dr. Samuel Hopkins "preached 
a lecture " from ii Coi'inthians 8, 5. " And this they did not as 
we hoped, but first gave themselves to the Lord and now to us 
by the will of God." And the record concludes, " Afterwards 
they were declared to be a Church of Christ." Such these eight 
men l>elieved themselves to l)e, for the next entry in the record 
is the following: 

PiTTSFiELD, March 6, 1764. 

"The Church of Christ iu Pittsficld this day met at the house of Deacon 
Crofoot and unanimously made choice of Mr. Thomas Allen to settle with 
them in the work of the Gospel Ministry. 

Attest: Stephen Ckofoot, Moderator." 

On the 8th of March the same year, the church, without a 
pastor, received William Williams and Josiah Wright as members. 

On the 1 8th day of A^jril following, the church ordained and 
installed, after simple primitive usages, its first Pastor. There 
were present at the ordination. Rev. Jonathan Ashley, of Deer- 
field, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, of Hatfield, Rev. Samuel 
Hopkins, of Great Barrington, Rev. Thomas Strong, of l^ew 
Marlborough, and Rev. Mr. Bidwell, of No. 1 (Tyringham,) 
besides several other neighboring ministers. The first prayer 
was made by Rev. Mr. Hopkins, the second hy Rev. Mr. Wood- 
l)ridge, the charge was given by Rev. Mr. Ashley, the right 
hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Bidwell, The sermon was 
preached by Rev. Mr. Hooker, of N^orthampton, from the text, 
Acts XX, 2G : "I myself also am a man." The topic being 
" Christ's Ministers, Men." Tlie last prayer was made by Rev. 
Mr. Strong. •' The whole was carried on with decency and in 
order." In this account there is a noticeable absence of Scri])- 
ture and of singing. There may have been both, and possibly 
neither. One would like to re-create that first ordination and 
installation here." The place we may pnt before us, but the 
men taking the parts, can we image them to ourselves ? The 
young, handsome, alert pastor elect, beginning a life of forty- 
seven years here, — can we not seen him ? We can hear the 
sober words spoken to him by his Pastor, John Hooker, and we 
can hear him congratulating his hearers that at last the Ordi- 



11 

nances of tlie Gospel and the means of Salvation were setup 
in " These liorders of the wilderness." 

Tlie clnirch needs only deacons to complete its apostolic 
e(]uipiiH'iit. It waits for tliesc till .laiiuary 7, 1765. When, at 
a meetinii- lield that day, it was voted ''Tliat James Easton and 
.losiah Wj-iglit sustain the office of Deacons in this church." It 
is added, "They accepted of the election," settiuii' an excellent 
example and worthy to be followed. 

Thus on the 7th of January, 1705, the Church of Christ in 
Pittsfield was complete, having all that belongs to a church of 
New Testament times, members and the two officers, pastor and 
deacons. I am to-day historian, not advocate. It belongs to 
me to tell the actions of the founders, not to applaud them ; but 
I cannot repress the spontaneous and fervid approval I feel. 
Simplicity has its own severe and impressive grandeur. It is no 
mean story of worthy exploit, that of the Jesuits in Canada, 
with ])ictures, crosses, processions, altars, vestments, chanting. 
T witness all and allow it exceeding virtue ; but more and timer 
gi-andeur has that scene we have been looking upon, wherein 
men, ]>lain men, self moved, and self-sufficient, covenanted with 
one another to serve Christ and maintain His Cause here in the 
wilderness and sought and secured a])proval by truly apostolic 
men. The scene lias no bri!liaii(e of color, no movement of 
chant or ])rocessional, but has a sinipHcity, seriousness, that 
makes it sure of being immortal ; forever appealing to men with 
increasing force, as men rise into the life of ideas and (tf })ure 
feeling. 

The first year of its existence theCliurch achled to its orignal 
eight members, thirty-one members, among whom are some of 
whom a word or two should be said. 

The ninth mendier of this Church was "William Williams, a 
clergyman's son, and a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1721>. 
Mr. Taft, in a paper read before the Historical Society on the Ju- 
dicial History of Berkshire County says "William Williams, 
down to the period of the lievolution, was the most prominent 
aiul important pci'sonage in the county, north of Stockbi-idge." 
lie says, also '' ( "olonel AVillianis was of sanguine teiu])eranK'nt. 
able, euter[)rising, active, ready with his pen as with his sw»»rd, 



12 

hospitable, generous, profuse in expenditure and fond of disjilay. 
He lacked economy and foresight, and was unfortunate in his 
business enterprises; but he seems never to have forfeited the 
respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens and to have fulfilled 
with ability and fidelity all his pnldic trusts." 

Another man, notable in his day, a member of the church, 
was Israel Dickinson. He was a graduate of Yale in the class 
of 1758. He had a classmate, an early settler in Pittsfield, not 
a member of the church, Israel Stoddard, a man eminent for 
ability and standing. Among those joining the Church during 
its first year was another Yale graduate, Woodbridge Little, of 
the class of 1760. These men were strong, positive forces in 
the town and of equal influence in the Church. They did much 
to give character to the young Church. Among the meml)ers 
during the first year wer^ Solomon Dumiing and wife, (the 
wife being the first woman coming into Pittsfield,) and Charles 
Goodrich, of whom it is recorded that "he drove the first team 
and cart which entered the town, cutting his wa}' through tlie 
woods for a number of miles." In the second year of its exist- 
ence, [Nathaniel Fairfield joined the Church. He claims the 
honor of first turning with a plough the virgin soil of Pittsfield. 
Time would fail me to tell of others. They weie a worthy 
company of men and women who settled here. Tliey were 
educated, energetic, enterpi-ising, the very kind of people to put 
in stable foundations and to infuse into the growing social fab- 
ric a living and advancing force. We may well be ])roud of 
them. The Church of Christ in Pittsfield was now well under 
way. It had gained foothold ; better, having been planted, it 
was striking roots deep into the ground and gave promise of 
whose generous fulfillment we are to-day rejoicing witnesses. 

The first minister served the Church forty-six years and died 
in office at the age of sixty-seven, Feb. 11, 1810. The eventful 
story of his long pastorate has been faithfully and graphically 
told by the historian of Pittsfield and needs slight reference 
from me. The times were troublous, feelings were intense, 
differences unavoidable ; l)ut the experiences were not in vain. 
The ardor, vehemence, Ijrilliancy of the young minister, his 
strong, exultant faith in men were contagious, overmastering. 



13 

His doctriiu' filled tlic ('(Miiity. Ilis cxaiiiplc provoked iiido- 
pt'iidi'iict' ill tlioii<4'lit and action. He mot parisliioners not 
intimidated l)y him, not afraid to dilVer from and disj)iite with 
him. There was a kind of warfare of intellectual giants ra<i'in<:' 
here for years and in the stress and strain of tlie contest men 
o-rew in power and self-rehance. A\'^oidd yon trace to its sj)ring.s 
mncli in tlie Berkshire character, yon must go back to the times 
of Parson Allen. With all his genius for leadership, he found 
those here whom he could not lead. By the power he exerted 
upon them and by the power with which they resisted him, both 
pastor and people went from strength to strength. Here patriots 
were made as they must needs have been by a minister intensely 
.patriotic. I copy a single entry from the Church Records : — 

" May 4, 1777. In lokon of my fervent aflfecliou for tlie civil and reliii'ioiis 
rii^lits and liberties of my Country and — God's Grace as.si.slin,i^' ine — of my 
linn attachment to its cause and of my grateful sense of the many and impor- 
tant services of tlie Commander-in-('liief of tlie forces of tlie United States. I 
iiimie my Iniiilli son George Washington, w iio was this dav Hapti/.ed and was 
horn April 22, Tuesday, seven o'clock A. M., 1777. " 

Such men in the pul[)its of the country matched in power the 
soldiers in the field. 

The times and the circumstances have made Mr. Allen's 
|)atriotism prominent above his [lietj; but there is no lack of 
evidence that he was as ardent and strong in faith as in devo- 
tion to his country. Keviewing his life here, noting his influ- 
ence, oliservingertects, there is no questioning the extent of his 
power or the beneficial results he achieved in developing a 
sturdy, intelligent, self-reliant people, — a })eo])le conscious of 
ability to manage for themselves town and church. Jn consid- 
ering the first forty-six years of this ('hurch''s history, certain 
facts merit distinct recognition. 

The settlement had had no timt^ to consolidate itself be- 
fore the pre-revohitionarv excitements began. Springiield is 
twice as old as l*ittsfiel<l. J'ittstield was a new border town, — 
the field for excitements. All sorts of (jm-stions weri' astir. 
There was dissatisfaction as to ministerial supjtort. Haptistand 
Methodist views were beginning to be pi-omnlgated. There 
was abundant op|)ortiinitv for ditVereiKH-. Add decided men as 
tho.se of I'ittsfield find there could be old v di\ision. It came — 



14 

came in Parson Allen's day and its healino;l)egan in the wisdom 
and sacrifice of Lis son and successor liev. William Allen and 
was perfected imder his successor Rev. Dr. Humphrey. 

The steps and sacriiices by which all was accomplished must 
be imtold by me this morning. 

" Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the 
Sons of God." This some count the final beatitude, there 
being no service beyond that of making peace and no reward 
beyond that of Divine Sonshij). Both the service and the 
reward belong to that rare man who, coming in here, of two 
made one new man, making peace. How wisely he did his work, 
all contemporary testimony gives concurrent witness. How 
true a reconciliation was effected, every root of bitterness being 
cast out, years of heartiest and most loving accord give proof. 
Many honors came to the inan of whom I speak. His name is 
held in dear esteem in college halls, among philanthopists, 
among a great host of friends, and by descendants, proud of 
his blood in their veins, who do him honor. We take no leaf 
from all his wreaths; but the First Church of Pittsfield remem- 
bers, reveres, loves Heman Humphi-ey as the man who made 
her peace, in virtue of whose benediction there can be no more 
variance or strife in the brotherhood he served. 

The man of peace w^as followed by men like himself. Each 
in his way compacting more firmly the reunited body of Christ- 
ian believers. Time alone forbids a distinct recognition of the 
services rendered the Church by Mr. Bailey, Mr. Tapj^an, Mr. 
Youmans, Mr.'Brinsmade. Time alone forbids my noting the 
steady growth of the church from ministry to ministry, A new 
order of things was beginning in Pittsfield. The railroad con- 
nected it with the world outside. The intercourse stimulated in. 
dustries. The church felt the motion of new life. There was 
a new (jrder to which the old was to be adjusted, and the provi- 
dential man appeared. His work is so recent, so conspicuous in 
the memory of most hearing me, all are so familiar with his 
achievements that no word is needed from me. None is neede^l 
but to withhold would be a self-violence. Coming a stranger 
and as such entering into his labors, I must bear my testimony 
to the excellence of what he did for the church he so long served 



15 

;iii(l l(i\i'(l. 'I'liis iiinsf jn'ciiliiir ami I'iclilv ^il'tc*! man will Itc; of- 
ten (luriii<i- the (lav hioiiij^lit before oiir minds; not too often and 
we shall not render him too li'enerous liomage. We are amid 
his works. This people is his woi-kmanship and may I say the 
workmanshi]) honors the workman. Not all the praise is his. In 
an historical sermon preached by Dr. Todd, Fel). 3, 1878, lie said 
" If ever I have accomplished anything, ever avoided mistakes, 
ever in any degree honored the Master, I greatly attribute it to 
an inflnence which men are not always ])rompt to acknowledge. 
In my home has been a life, swallowed np in my success, will- 
ing to be unknown and out of siglit. unwearied in giving en- 
couragement and i-ousing to effort; })rom[)t and cheerful in 
concealing my defects and in covering my deficiencies; kind to 
a])ologize for what could not be a])})roved ; uncomplaining 
when worn down by heavy burdens such as few are called to 
bear; more than ready to be unselfish and to wear out that 
others might })rotit by my labors. I say it is there^ in that life 
I have found the source and the cause of all I have done. Oh! 
wife of my youth! many daughters have done virtuously, but 
thou excellest them all." 

It is a special distinction of this day that the woman, of whom 
such true words were spoken by one who could best speak them, 
has been spared to tliis liour and lives to receive the generous, 
affectionate tributes of those whom she served as the people of 
her husband. May the day be slow in coming Avhen she shall 
go from us! May the days be many which shall be gladdened 
by her gracious, kindly presence. The Lord bless her, keep her, 
lift upon her the light of His countenance and give her ])eace. 
This jn-ayer we all make for her, here and now. 

What one huiidi'c(l and twenty-five years ago was small in its 
beginning, has endured, increased, not by the alulity of minis- 
ters, not by the intelligence, large heai-tedness of members; the 
Church has survived and grown in \irtueof the Life incarnated 
in it. When the eight men here covenanted togethei-, they 
a.ssociated in (■hrist''s name. To them bcloTigcd the ])romi.se 
that He would be in the midst of them, with them to the end 
of the world. ( )n('(' gathci"c(l in Christ's name, the Church has 
abode in Ilis name. There ha\e Ijeen changes in terms, in 



16 

usages ; there has been no swerving from Clirist. Would that 
we might say the church is growing more and more into Christ its 
Head ; was more and more receiving all from Him, less and less 
from intermediary agencies. Because we liold this hope faintly 
yet really, because we know the fidelity of the Church to Christ, 
in its more than one hundred years of hfe, do we anticipate a 
future better than the past, and have firm confidence that the 
fathers' God will be the God of the chihh-en; tliat He who was 
our fathers' Guide will be our Guide even unto death. 




^^'^SiBmiS<n-sl3Ban:UjStXt 





Vyi^^ ^ooicc 



THE EIGHT 
FOUNDATION MEN. 

BY R0BI<:RT W. ADAM. 

What interest it would add to this occasion could we [)i-oducu 
u])on the platform the original eight, the " Foundation ]V [en " 
of our church, as thej appeared on the day we this day coni- 
nieniorate. How delightful it would he to take them by the 
hand, listen to their voices, to gaze on their forms aud features 
and l)ehold what manner of uien they were. And what m-ouM 
be their emotions could they reappear on the scene of their 
labors and unite with us in the exercises of this day ^ J.ooking 
without, the forests now cleared, l)road, graded streets in jdace 
of the grass-gro.vn cart ])aths, elegant residences and substantial 
blocks covering the grounds then s}>arsely dotted with the hum- 
l»le structures of their day, would they find sufficient landmai-ks 
to direct them to their former homes, and within, beholding 
these decoi-ated Malls, these car])eted aisles and cushioned seats, 
this assend)lage so changed in attire from the fashion of their 
day, could they recognize in all this the outgrowth of that low- 
studded, })lainly-furnislied room with its sanded Moor and wide- 
mouthed fireplace, its plain oaken table and its straight-backed 
(•bail's, its occu})ants in short clothes and cue, of solenni aspect 
and determined mien, the birth])Iace and the progenitors of the 
First Church of Christ in Pittsfield ^ Such an interview with 
them, imagination alone can give us. In introducing Stephen 
Crowfoot, Jacob Ensign, Ephraim Stiles, Daidel Hubbard. 
Aaron Baker, EInathan [*]ielps, William ]*hcli>s and Ecmuel 
J*hel[)s to y(»ii to-day, I piopoM' to give you vi-rv brief bio- 
gra])hical statistics concerning each, recognizing tin- fact that 



18 

these anuiversary exercises would ])e very incomplete without 
their intruductioii, and, on the other hand, that an extended 
genealogical table wunld consume time which might be better 
occupied to-day. For the collecting of what I have to read to 
you I am largely indeljted to Miss Redfield, Mr. Taft and Jo- 
seph E. A. Smith, through his town history and through per- 
sonal interviews. 

Stephen Crowfoot, one of the very earliest settlers of the 
town, as well as an early settler of Belchertown, was born at 
IS^orthampton, in 1602, went to Belchertown some time before 
1737, and came here, probal)ly, as early as 174!>. We find 
record of a conveyance of a lot to him in 1754, on condition 
that he build a house eighteen feet s(piare with seven foot studs. 
There is no certain ground for asserting that a building of 
that description was his residence in 1764, but whether it was 
or not we have no other desci-iption of the temple in which the 
first meeting of our church was held. Ke probably was made 
a Deacon in Belchertown as he l)ore that title before coming 
here, though the Belchertown records do not show his election 
there. He was evidently one of the leading citizens of this 
town. It was at his house on what is now Elm street, east from 
the tamiery l)ridge, that the first town meeting, as well as the 
meeting for the organization of the church, was held. He 
served the warrant for the first meeting of the Proprietors af- 
ter their incorporation as a Plantation, and at that meeting he 
was chosen one of the assessors. He was one of the first com- 
mittee appointed to provide for preaching, and one of a com- 
mittee of five, as it is expressed in the vote "to manage the 
whole affair of the meeting house," by which was meant its 
erection. This last office seems to have been not to his liking, 
for after a time he resigned it, but his resignation was not ac- 
cepted. Possibly to "manage the whole affair of a meeting 
house" was then and always will be no easy task. His enter- 
prise built the first bridge across the east branch of the Housa- 
tonic, a little above the location of the present tannery bridge. 
From the records it appears that there was a succession of pro- 
posals and counter-proposals between the town and himself con- 
ceriung the erection of a grist mill on the river above the site 



19 

of wliat lias niore rrceiitly I)C'C'n kiidwii as the \i\u Sicklcr t'ac- 
toi'y. II('(li<l [Hit lip a <i:rist mill tlieiv, but it seems uottoliave 
liceii an entirely satisfactory enterprise, either to liimself or the 
town, for soon after liis deatli it passed from tlie ownership of 
liis son. The reason of the town's apparent disfavor towards 
wliat now would seem to have been an almost necessary enter- 
prise does not appear. His story is that of an active, piil)lic- 
spirited, trusted man in church and town, and the name of one 
of his grand-cliildren, a worthy Deacon of our chiircli, will 
]irobably be prominent in an(»ther paper to be read to-day. He 
died here in 1772. 

Jacob Ensiii'n was a direct descendent of one of the first set- 
tlers (»f nartf(U-<l, Conneticut. He was born at West Hartford, 
in 1724. Fi-om his twin bi'othcr. John, was descended the late 
Rev. Horace Ihishnell, so Uiw^ in the front rank of })reachers 
and writers in (»ur conntrv. Mr. Ensi<>'n came to this t(»wn 
about 17.'')2 and built and occupied a home on the site of the 
dwelling of the late N. G. Brown, at the easterly end of East 
street. His kind extended northerl}' and easterly from his 
dwelling, and the p<Mid which we now know as Silver Lake, 
was formerly called Ensign Pond, [)resumably fn^m his owner- 
ship of the neighboring or surrounding land. He early took 
and maintained till his death, M'hich occurred here in 1813, a 
pi-ominent and influential part in all public matters, whether of 
chui'ch or town. He was one the signers of a petition to the 
General Court, with Ste])hen Crowfoot, Ephraim Stiles and 
others, representing that they had built a good and defensible 
garris(»n. He was one of the first three assessors of the Planta- 
tion ; on the first committee appointed "to agree with some 
suitable person to preach niiiong us." ;md on a connuittee to 
dis[)Ose of the apjiroiu-iation for roads and bridges. He was 
elected constable at the first town meeting, and in Afarch, 177r), 
he was appointed a warden; one of ;i committee for the care of 
disorderly jjcrsons, which latter office, we may ju<lge from the 
recoi-d of the procee<lings of the town, may have included the 
the care (d" tories and suspected tories. In 1767, having pre- 
viously l)argaiiK'd with Deacon Ci'owfoot, he olitained from the 
town a irrant of the west end of the mill dam forfifti-eu veai-s 



20 

conditioned that he shonld, within one year, begin and exercise 
the feat of a ch)thier dnring said term, tlie town reserving the 
right to remove the dam further down the stream, if it saw fit, 
at the exjiiration of Crowfoot's lease, in which case Ensign's 
riglits were to be transferred to the new location. This was 
the beginning of Pittsfield's woolen manufacture. Throngli 
the kindness of Charles L. Ensign of Boston, many of his de- 
scendants have been traced. They are largely in Ohio and 
other western states. One great-granddanghter, Mrs. Calvin 
Carver, is now living in this town. 

E])hraim Stiles was born in Wcstfield, in 1690. He lived 
there till his removal to Pittsfield in about 1757. His house 
was at the corner of West and Onota streets, on the site of the 
house now owned l:)y George Winchell, formerly known as the 
Merrick Ross ])lace. His name appears on petitions to the 
General Court, and, at a meeting of the Proprietors in 1758, 
he was made one of a committee, with Deacon Crowfoot and 
Sergeant Jones, to hire a minister. He died in 1765, tlie year 
following the organization of the church. Two l)ranclies of his 
descendents are now living in Pittsfield. He was cousin to the 
father of President Stiles of Yale College, from whom is de- 
scended our present pastor. Thus is established a kinship be- 
tween pastor and church in addition to that relationship so 
pleasantly formed twelve years since, and which the intervening 
years have constantly strengthened. 

Daniel Hul)bard came here from Westfield. He l)Ought a 
settling lot in 1759, but there ai'e indications that he was hero 
some years before that date. IJis house was on the site now 
occupied by Nelson Parker, near tlie brook, on the cross road 
leading from West street to Stearnsville. On the first division 
of highways into surveyor's districts, he was made surveyor of 
the district extending from the w'est line of the t(jwn to the 
west river. He is spoken of in our town history as a w^ealth}' 
citizen of the ''West Part," who early adhered to the wliig 
cause in the revolutionary days; a man of sterling character 
whose determination, energy and place in the comnnmity, made 
him of eminent service to the cause. In May, 1777, he was 
one of a party in which were his son Paul, and a son of Ephraim 



21 

Stiles, wlio marched to Kiiidci-liook to look after "inimical per- 
sons" — so-called — that is tories. One of the connnandin^ of- 
ficers of the company was his son. Licnt. .James Hnl)l)ar(l. He 
was a soldier in the company wliicli went to Fort Edward, July 
7,1777. He died here Dec. ]'.», 1777, a<,^ed 68. His deatii 
was the direct i-esult of exposuiv and illness incident to his ser- 
vice as a soldier. His son, James, was a Deaccm of this clnircli, 
and from the marriai»:e of Deacon James' danii'hter t<t .lolm 
( 'lini'chill are descended the families of C'hnrchill, Francis and 
Manniiii's now residini; here. Two irreat-ti:reat-irrands(ins l»ear- 
ing the name of llnbhard are now living in Pittsfield. 

Aaron l>aker, a descendant of a prominent ^Vortluimpton 
faniilv, was horn in Northani[»Ton in 1720. lie niai'ricd Je- 
mima ( 'lai'k of Northampton, in 171:7, bought land here in 
17<»<t, and moved hei'e in 176?>. Mis first house was built 
on the corner op])(»site the school house on the np[>er road to 
Jiarkerville, overlooking the site of Uarkerville. This house is 
not standing. Later he, with his son, Aaron Jr., built another 
house farther down on the Kichmond road, the fii'st house now 
standing beyond the point where the Barkerville road turns off. 
Another house in that vicinity is now occupied by his gi-and- 
daughter, Miss Aminda P)aker, a lady of eighty-four years. As 
showing tlie ap]>earance of the country in those days, Miss 
I>aker relates, as one of the family traditions, that her father 
when a lad was sent out with the cows to watch them and he 
with his chai'ge became lost in the forest and was finallv fouml 
fai' over in the east pai-t of the town. Just befoi'e the removal 
of the family to Pittstii'ld, Mrs. Paker called on ]\[rs. Allen, 
the niotlicr of our tirst pastoi*. and seeing their " ^'oung 
Thomas," as he was then called, who was at the time s(»mewhat 
out of health, said to him, "AVell Thomas, come up to Pitts- 
field and be our ministi'i-, then you'll get well." Ilis niotlu'r 
replied for him, "Pittsfield, that's the end of the world, he'll 
fall off if he goes there." That was Mr. Allen's first call to 
this church and parish. It is not to be found in our records, 
lie came afterwards and there is no record eitliei- of his falling 
oil. Aaron I'>al<er was a man of i-epute, prominent in town af- 
fairs. He was, with Jacob Fnsign, a warden, and of the com- 



22 

mittee for care of disorderly persons, and one of the consoli- 
dated committee of cori-espondence, insjiection and safet}'. 
About 17<>7 lie erected a fnllincr mill in what is now Barker- 
ville, the commencement of what lias since been so important 
an industry in that part of tlie town. lie died in 1802. 

William and Elnathan Phelps, l)rothers, were l)orn in North- 
hampton, the one in 1731, the other in 1734. They were of 
good descent; their ancestry can be traced back in this country 
to 1630, in Dorchester. Their parents, William and Thankful 
(Edwards) Plielps were i)ersons of wealth and of a[)parently 
better education than the majority of that day. The brothers 
came here in 1761. WiUiam married, but died here in 1773, 
leaving no descendants. 

Elnathan Phelps is the only one of the eight who is person- 
ally remembered, so far as I can learn, by any one now living. 
Deacon Daniel Stearns remembers him as about five feet, nine 
inches in height, broad shouldered, but not stout, in weight 
about two hundred pounds, hair slightly gray and face smooth- 
ly shaven, active and energetic in his movements. Deacon 
James Francis says lie was familiai'lj called Uncle Elly by the 
community at large. lie became a Baptist, or Separatist, as 
the denomination was then called, and removing to Vermont 
became a })reaclier or exhorter. lie occasionally returned here 
to visit relatives and preached. Deacon Francis remembers 
being in the field one Monday morning wnth his father when 
they heard a halloa. Looking over to the road some distance 
away they saw Elder Phelps, wdiom they had heard preach in 
the school house the day before, mounted on horseback and 
beckoning to them. When he saw he had their attention he 
shouted to them, " Did you suck any honey out of the rock 
yesterday r' and passed on. His house, which he built here, 
was on a road, now disused, leading off from the farther road 
running from West street towards Stearnsville. He founded a 
Baptist church in Orwell, Yt., and one in Hampton, N. Y. 
From him was descended William Miller, the Prophet of the 
Second Adventists or Millerites, also Professor Austin Phelps 
of Andover, and his no less distinguished daughtei', Elizabeth 
Stuart, now Mrs. Ward. Some of his descendants are here. 



28 

iiuuiv ill W'nuuiit, Xow York, Michigan and utliur status of 
the AVest. He died at Powual, Vt., in January, 1813, wliile 
on liis way to visit his son in Pittstield. 

Lemuel Plielps was a distant rehitive oi the last two men- 
tioned, and also came here from Northauiption, M'here he was 
hnvu in 1731. We find liis name as an enrolled soldier in the 
army of the revolution, hut no record of his death is found and 
no descendants of his are known here. He jjrohahly removed 
to A^ermont. 

In the chai)el, in our rear. lian<rs, to-day, a poi-trait of the 
Divine, who, one hundred and twenty-iive years ago to-dav, 
preached the first sermon to which tliis church evi'i- h'steiied ; 
l>iit. sofar as I know, no picture in any form is preserved of 
any iiu-mlier of that church. 1 have gi\-en \i>u what arvpiaint- 
aiice with them I c<.ul(l within the time allowed me, and now 
what think ye of tliem ( 

They were hrave men; for it i-ecpiiri'd n(» small degree of 
courage to dwell in this wilderness then; savages lurkin-i' all 
around them, every trei-, ]>o>>.ihly. concealing a murdeivi'. 
They were men who loved liheity. a,- i> sIk.wii no les> in their 
Congregatioiia Hmu than in their pati-iotiMu. With po^iMv one 
exception, every one of them who lived till the dav of tin- re\- 
olutiouary war, l»ore arms in that struggle. 

They Avere men to whom religion was a chei-ished i-ealitv, 
and we find them l>i-inging it with them and ])i'<i\ idinu- f,„- jts 
ohservances and ministration^ a> one of the first necessities of 
their ])ioneei* life. 

'i'liey were men who plaimeil and l.uilt wi>elv for the fntnri". 
for they planted here a church, which, through all these vears. 
has been a source of untold good to untohl mnnhers. whose 
means and opportunities for usefulness never greater tluin 
to-day. we hope, undei- Divine guidance, will he faithfullv 
and wisely used and im])i-ove<l until the whole earth i> tilled 
w ith the glory of the Lord. 

This is tlieii- woi'k. iiiid li\- tlieii" work do we know them. 



CHL'RCH BUILDINGS ANO 
FIRNITURE. 



BY WnXIAlI L. ADAJi. 



- "f US, hx Mny freak of iMtme, live to iu«et 

- . tit in <»ar [jdaiee^ i« tLe seventh dav uf 

vtsar ^'14, anoi »JM.«aId the i^n^e of dglit or 

~ " "" "- ""^-? f^eeor hearnuinT tliin«FS 

: t^sil V understwid. But 

it k misciii t' n rite ciian^ne^ in lli^ sum;*iin<iin£r^ 

• —- — ---.. —^ - 'j ^,iie of tlie 

aiul twenty- 
fire vtsarr a^> tiiis winter'^ daj, wooki lind in the little settle- 
T he knew. w<e4^ he now to ftep anii^ig as and look 

TiMt i^ain. w<(j«jden weeda^ house of 17<^, then ^till in an 

" '" js iu whieli 

:„. - ^ ■ ^ *A the i^ite 

«f tM^s it» ^*me grand-^hild. It^ n<»th dde. or rear, fuc its 

' " ujKin s*^iuie jwrt 

_. _.. .--- -...—. Ill fr«L»nt of tbl-i 

--• M-nire. As it was Imt thirty-five feet in depth, it? frcmt 
part of the rcod'sray now l»etween u> and 
, .ca, r. .-..:.. :^cr t*.* the e4.»utL ttoud the ma^iificeut ebii. 
- ]< >ii^ tLe pride and gk»fy of this favored town : a irve then 
:\:-ij<.<ra of any of itr- l^eauty. a kindly and l«eneficeut sentinel 
v.-aT'-L5!jr '-'-' '''''- little nei^rW'--'-. "—--ri^'.- -- -?->• i-^i-.v- ^t. l.-Ft,- 

JBnt to get even thL* nnfinii^iied house in which to worj?iiip 
had been DO eafiv tat>k. A> far l«a<:-k h- "^ .,. ,%i ^ Septem- 




INTERIOR OF FIRST CHURCH. 
FEBY 6 , 1889. 



\k'\\ 17.").">, at tlic tii-st iiiL'ctiiiii- (»f "Tlic Troprii'tors of tlic Sixty 
Scttliiiii; Lots ill tlic Plantation of l*ooiitoosuck," and as soitii 
as a niodei'ator and a clerk had hueii cliosoii, it was voted to lay 
a tax of tlirt'i' sliilliniis iijioii eacli settling lot "for the support 
of ])ivacliinii; anioiiii u>/' wliilc the next vote appropi'iated £40 
lawful money, with which to hiiihl a nieetin<i; house. The 
name of Deacon Crofoot appeal's upon each of the coniniittees 
then aj)pointed to carry out the wisjies of the meeting, and as- 
sociated witli him upon each was (Charles (Toodrich, the l)eai'er 
of a name destined to he >o long and honorahly known in the 
church ami town, and the representatives of which are still 
numerous anuMig us. 

Many and vexatious delays, however, served to put off the 
day when the littK' community should have a house in which 
to hold its meetings, alike for ISalthath services and for the 
transaction of its secular l)usiness, and it was not till June, 
1701, that the various motions j)i'(>diiced any etfect. when it 
was voted. "That four shillings be raised on each lot, to pay 
for raising the meeting house; and every man who comes early 
to ha\'e three .-hillings credit j^^^r diem, till the house he raised, 
and the committee to take account of each man's lahov — the 
other shilling to he paid for I'uiii and sugar.'' Pittsfield has 
often been twitted since that time with having ratlier lax 
nioi-als. Hut her most car])ing critic must admit that one huii- 
di'ed and twenty-eight years have wrought a change tor the 
better, and tliat the day when the foundations of a house of 
this sort could be laid with mortar mixed with such a fluid has 
gone fr(»m anumg us, and forever. 

The summer of this year, 1T*»1, saw the littK' liiiilding at 
last fairly under way. and advanced so far that in .March of the 
next year a town meeting was held within its walls foi- the first 
time. The ownei'shii* of this house was vested in the town, for 
tlu' town hail taxeil itself for the luiililiiig. and continued to use 
the meeting house for public purposes till its successor was 
erected, thirty years later. After that no more t»»wn meetings 
weiv held in the church, though the town's owiier>hip did not 
cease till the title [)assed to the prest'iit parish, now .voiiii'what 
more than lilty years ago. 



26 

At this time I pay no lieed to the parish as such, simply 
treating it and its belongings, for the purposes of this anniver- 
sary, and as they should always be regarded, as so many mem- 
bers of that body of which the visible church is the head. It 
is interesting to note here that the lirst town meeting of Pitts- 
iield was held in the house of Deacon Stephen Crofoot, on the 
eleventh of May, 1761, the same house in which this church 
was organized three years afterward. 

So far as 1 know, no trace of this first meeting-house now re- 
mains, and nothing connected with it is left to us save some of 
Mr. Allen's manuscripts, including his letter of acceptance, 
which may have been read from the desk, before his occupancy 
of it, by some temporary supply, a hymn-book or two and the 
records of the church and the town, which often lay upon the 
little deal table before the i)ulpit, a tal)le that in turn served 
both church and state with judicial impartiality. Mrs. Mary 
L. O'Sullivan, of this town, a grand-daughter of the Kev. Mr. 
Allen, has a foot .stove belonging in the lii'st ])arsonage, which 
she says ''was perhaps as warm and constant an attendant upon 
the services of the first church as any that could be found." 
As the building was guiltless of any heat, and as it was, and 
even is, sometimes cold in Pittstield, possibly the surmise is not 
far from the truth. 

Could we have come nj) to this primitive structure with the 
gathering congregation, on a fair Sabbath morning of some 
sununer long gone l)v, we should have seen a very different 
Pittstield from the one that we know. East street then entered 
North and South streets, as East Housatonic street now enters 
the latter, and from one to two hundred feet east of the corner 
thus made, on the north side of East street, stood the meeting- 
house, its front about on the line of the road. No l)ell would 
have sounded its call, and if we had ridden, we should have had 
to fasten our horses wherever chance offered, for, unlike most 
country parishes, this one has never been willing to surround 
its churches with unsightly, if useful, rows of horse-sheds. We 
should have paused a moment to enjoy the shade of the stately 
elm that stood before the door, and to exchange greetings with 
friends and neighbors, M'hom, possibly, we had not seeii since 
the previous Sabbath. 



27 

If tliis lirst iiuH'tiiiu-lu'iisc Avas a bare aii<l i)laiii affair, with- 
out i)aiiit, with t1icsiini)li'st of oaltk' roofs, uiihrokcii vvvw I).v a 
hi'lfi-v, with no l»Hn(ls to screen its windows, which it niu>t he 
feared, often sliowed many broken panes in both its stories, it 
certainly kK-ked notliiiii;- of h- 1 will, with its doors opening- 
cast and south and west, throu<;h which it ur<;'ed all who would 
to come. 

Passino- in bv the sontli (h)or, we sliould have found an inte- 
rior without (.rnament or decoration of any sort, with seventeen 
s([uare pews and six k»ng seats npon tlie lower floor, taking- up 
nn)st of the space, and galleries on tlie three sides over the 
doors. Directly in frontof ns, facing the broad aisle, Avould have 
been the pulpit, from wliicli the sturdy Parson Allen wielded 
so strong an intluence over the rising connmmity. Two high- 
backed chairs would have stood behind tlie pulpit, while before 
it would have been tlie table wlu^se ac(piaintance we have al- 
ready made, all of Spartan simplicity. 

The owners of the s(piare pews would have taken their 
places in them, sitting with their families, while the calm exte- 
riors of some of the occupants of the long seats would scarcely 
have concealed the deadly heartburnings beneath them, caused 
by the system of "dignifying the house," or seating the con- 
gregation acciu-ding to supposed social rank, then in vogue in 
New Euirland. In these seats, as in the galleries, a Shaker-like 
division of the sexes would have attracted our notice, while 
behind the row of singers in the south gallei-y would have ap- 
peared the sable faces and gleaming teeth of another pai-t of 
the congregation. All in all it was a typical Xew England 
country audience of the last century, gathered in a meeting- 
house (piite inferior and wholly unworthy of the beautiful 
town of whose life it formed the center. 

A •'•eneration has now passed away; the infant c..inniunity 
lias irrown to be one of two thousand souls; and the shabby 
and ill-tittinu- clothes of its childhood must be laid aside for 
others of ampler breadth and <.f fashion better becoming its 
viijorous youth. So in April, 17S1>, the town appointed a com- 
mittee of nine of its m..st substantial and influential men, to 
repoi-t a plan for a new meetingdi..usi'. T.y Xovendter of the 



28 

same year they were ready to make tlieir report, witli its siiij;- 
gestious as to tlie size of the new edifice and estimates as to its 
probable cost. Tlie latter were as th()r(»no;hly and liherally ex- 
ceeded by the actual cost as in the case of any mure modern 
buildinii;, tlius provinir that after all in a full century we have 
not taken so loni; a ste]) in advance of onr fathers. 

The buildino- of tliis meeting-house pntbably did more to 
change the apjx'ai'ance of our village than any other act of 
which its recoi'ds make note. A committee in cliarge of the 
matter had ivpoi-tcd in favor of setting the structure so that it 
shr)uld face the south, with its front upon the line of the street. 
But in tliis way the splendors of the architecture of the new 
church would b(! hidden from those who aj)])roached it fi-om 
the west, a section of the town wliose jxipulation was of gi-eat 
M'eiglit in jmbhc affairs. 

Influenced l)y this sti-ong feeling, the town voted to put tlie 
front seven feet further south than the committee liad recom- 
mended, and to accomplish this, the noble elm must l)e sacri- 
ficed. In fact the ax had already begun its deadly work, when 
Mrs. John ( nuindler Williams, the wife of one of Pittshehrs 
most ennnent men, and one who long bore a leading part in its 
councils, rushed out from her home in the handsome colonial 
house, now owned by Miss Elizabeth 8. Newton, then standing 
near the front of the present (^ourt J louse grounds, and actu- 
ally put herself before the tree, staying the destroyer's arm till 
the town could reconsider its ill-ad\ised action. 

Mr. Williams then offered to give to the town, for a public 
square, as much of his land lyiug south of the elm as the town 
itself woidd set apart between the elm and the new meeting- 
house. Most foi-tunately the offer M'as gladly accepted, and 
thus was ac(|uired tlie sjjace for the o])en green and park, whose 
effect upon the beauty and attractiveness of this town can not 
readily be estimated by any of us, even at this present day. 
The elm itself f(jrgave the injury, but carried the scars of its 
wounds deep hidden from sight, only to l>e revealed when it 
met its fate in a ripe and l)elove(l old age. 

Upon the site then of this ])resent church, between the sum- 
mer of ITlH) and some time in the third year following, rose 



29 

the socoiul iiK'ctiiiii-lioiix', still well rciiu-iiilxTiMl hy many lu-ar- 
iiiU' inc. and familiar to tlii' ivst ot" us as tin- ^yiiinasiuiii at 
Ma[)lc\V()(t(l. Its arcliiti'ct w;is the iioti'tl CliarU's Hultincli. the 
impivss i)f whoso skill is iipoii the cnhiriicd l^'aiuMiil Hall, ii|ii>ii 
the State House in i5oston, and upon the ('apitol at Washino;- 
to]i. Ninety feet lonjx, exclusive of the j)oi-clu an<l fifty-five 
feet wide, this new huildinii; could have held within it thive 
houses as lari;'e as it> Httlc predecessor, still standinij,- hut a few 
feet in fi'ont of it. So near was it in fact, that a niortar-hed, 
lyino- hetween the two, in which tiiv had started fi'oni some 
slacking- lime, thrt'atened to he the means of de>ri-oyin^' hotli. 
As no use had heen found for thi' older structui'e, it was pulled 
a little to the east, when it fell to ))ieces. perliaps not wifhout 
the least hit of assistance. 

The town ai^ain taxed itself, as it had done thirty years he- 
fore, to ])nild this second nieeting-honse, and it is i-athei- odd to 
learn that no i2;ifts of littings or furnitnix' for the handsome 
structure were made hy any individuals, even the cushion for 
the pulpit haviuii; heen hoUi;ht hy the town. Ihit we must not 
suppose that this fact hetrays any lack of intt'rest (»r enthusi- 
asm among the town's-people. foi- in many instances the sum 
assessed was contrilmted in the choicest and most carefully se- 
lected materials instead of in money. Thus an eighty foot 
stick of tindiei' came from I)i\ IMniothy Childs. tin' i'idge]>ole 
fi-om Stephen Kowler, two sills from Capt. ( 'harles (Goodrich, 
another sill.tifty feet in length, was brought hy Zehuloii Stik's, 
one of the first settlers of the town. Mrs. Stoddard and Mrs. 
Dickinson, the widows of two men j)rominent in the lievolu- 
tion. togethi'r furnished a pillar twenty feet long and a ])ine 
heam of seventy feet, while ('apt. Jared IngersolTs tindiei- lot 
in Lenox yielded one of the ])illai"s for the helfry. Time has 
shown that these materials were of the soundest and hest. l»ut 
were othei's like them now to he called for from us. this county 
wouM have to submit itself to a most I'igorous and nn'mite 
search. 

Thii'ty yeai's had not done away with all the old customs, and 
till' frame of thi> new Imilding. like the old, was put together 
with the same liiieral help, or hindrance, of a spirituous sort. 



30 

But tlie first season saM' it enclosed and covered, and tlionglmo 
record of its completion and dedication is left, it was probably 
ready for use l)efore the end of the year 1793. The people of 
the town were jnstly proud of their ini])Osing honse of wor- 
ship), with its wliite front facing;; tlu^ newly opened sqnare and 
snrnionnted l»y an open belfry, in which was Imng, in the same 
year, 1793, that object of the greatest interest to them all, their 
first bell. Althongh weighing bnt seven hnndred ponnds, this 
l)ell had a clear and pleasing tone and conld be heard, so it is 
said, when all things favored, as far away as Washington Monn- 
tain. Even this result did not satisfy some of the more ambi- 
tions, who snbstitnted a heavier tongue than the one with which 
it was provided, and promptly cracked the bell. Another was 
soon ordered to be made from the old one, with the addition of 
not more than three hnndred pounds of metal, and continued 
to perform its duty through summer and winter, for church 
services and for town meetings, for celebrations and for fire 
alarms, till it too was cracked and gave way to the l)ell now 
hanging above us, cast l)y George II. Ilolbrook of East Med- 
way, in 184-2. 

It M-as not till another generation had come and gone, in 
1822, that the labors of the bell were increased by its duties as 
public monitor, but since that time, save while fire and the re- 
moval of its old home prevented, it has by day and by night 
faithfully warned the dwellers in the town of the passing of 
the hours, and the days, and the weeks, and the years. 

The appearance of this meeting house is familiar to all who 
know rittsfield and its belongings, as it appears so often in 
prints and views of the square and its elm, and upon so much 
.blue pottery. In fact the front of the l)uilding is but little 
changed now, save that the belfry has given way to an observa- 
tory. The recollections, too, of many have been refreshed l)y 
the interesting cut, published in the Evening Journal of the 
tenth of last month, showing the semi-circular flagging and 
row of posts in front of the doors, placed there not far fi'om 
1830, and by the valuable calendar, opportunely issued this 
week by our local fire insurance com]>any. Ninety-six years 
ago this week the marble steps, which show so plainly in the 



31 

cut, an.l wliicli t.Mlay aiv still (luino- duty in front of tin- d.M.i-s 
„f this chuivli, wt'iv drawn hither, from s..nie iinurry in liicli- 
niondJ)V many oxen and with .^reat rejoicin^^-. 

Within iln',y^ the scpiare pews of the ..hler meetin.ii--h(.use 
repeated themselves, with the hroa.l or middle aisle, while over- 
head was an arehed eeilino- with the elaborate joinery of that 
period. Somewhat later thi. ceilin- wa> hidden l.y a faUe one 
,,n a L.wer plane; hnt it was a<;ain hn.noht t(. view, l.y tearinu- 
away the substitute, when the building was moved to itsi)resent 
site." The hiii-h pulpit, with a iii.ii-ht of .stei)s on either >ide, was 
at the north' end, but at the eonnni;- of Dr. Todd, and at his 
re.piest, it was brouu-ht down more nearly to the level 
of the couirregation. ' behind it hung the well-remem- 
bered red eui-tain, shielding the eyes of the pew-holders from 
the strong, unobstructed light of the north window. A i)art 
,.f this ..id pulpit, in which Mi: Allen [.reached f..i- nearly a 
score of years, is still preserved in a kneeling stool, made from 
its wo(.d f<»r Mrs. O'Sullivan. 

The arranirement of the galleries was like that in the tirst 
huildin- and repeated in thi> present .•liurrh. with the s.mth 
one set apart for the singers. Into the ea>t gallery, m later 
years, the young ladies <.f the Maplewood Institute were w..nt 
to be marshalled, under vigilant escort, while by some attraction 
or other, various y(.ung men of the town, (.r boys here at school 
were to be found occupying seats in the oppt.site galleiw. It 
was noticed that at times the eyes of the young men rested, not 
upon the preacher in the pulpit before them, but upon the fan- 
sitters across the church. So the e.lict went b.rth that the en- 
tire school, even to the youngest girl, should appear on the tnl- 
lowing Sabbath with close green veils. ^^.. sooner had they 
takeu^'their seats than one of the young men in the west gal- 
lery, i.erhaps a staunch believer in homeopathy, or perliap> one 
wh(.' was da/./.led by the sunlight which came through the win- 
dows with n.. hindrance from shade or shutter, promptly raised 
a green und.rella. A week later the green veils gave place to 
less noticeable ones of black. 

Such was the meeting-house which f(.r sixty years served tln> 
society faithfully and well. From time to time its interior un- 



32 

derwent clianges. to adapt it to the varyiiiij: tastes and wishes of 
its occupants, iioticeal)ly so wlicii, in ls;^)(i, the scpuire pews 
gave way to more convenient slips, and the central aisle was 
closed. I>nt even then the sentiment in favor of seating the 
house hy means of a committee was too strong to be uprooted, 
and it held its sway for some years longer. The building had 
been heated, or alleged to be, by wood stoves of course, for 
some time prior to 1822, and it had i)rovision for lighting in 
the shape of whale oil lamps. One of the early recollections 
of Deacon James Francis, of the Baptist Church of this town, 
whose memory runs back for a period as long as the alloted life 
of man, is that of seeing the little pails hung beneath the joints 
of the pipes that stretched along the fronts of the galleries, in 
this second meeting-house, from the stoves at the south end to 
the chimneys at the north end. 

For many years the church had held its prayer meetings in 
such places as it could get. though foi- the greater part of the 
time in the old Union Parish meeting-house, which stood where 
the South Church now is. But aftor various eiforts to procure 
a l)uilding of its own, and through the vigorous measures of 
Dr. Todd, in iS-to it secured, Ijy grant of the town, sufficient 
land near the northeast corner of its meeting-house, uponwhicli 
to erect the white, wooden " Lecture Room," so called, with its 
Doric portico, so well remembered by many of us as the scene 
of evening and early morning meetings and of Sunday School 
concerts. Dr. Todd, in his historical sermon, preached on the 
third of February, 1873, says of this building, that "It was 
neat, well proportioned, convenient, and, in the winter, very 
cold." One might have been disposed to doul)t this last state- 
ment, if appearance only were the test, for full in view, as one 
entered the jjorch, was a in\e of unsplit wood, which Sexton 
Fairbanks left wholly unprotected, at the mercy of an honest 
community, while within, the stoves, surrounded by a great 
expanse of tinned side walls and pew fronts and backs, seemed 
to take up a most generous portion of the space. 

For some reason the interior of this building, wliich was a 
little larger than the first meeting-house, is strongly impressed 
upon my memory. The maps of vai-ious missionar}^ fields, 




THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE. 
(See pages 26 and 27.) 




THE FIRST I'ARSONAGE ERECTED BY THE REV. THOMAS ALLEN. ON THE 
CORNER OF EAST AND FIRST STREETS. 



33 

liaiiging ujioii its walls, always attracted my l)oyish attention, 
particularly that of the Sandwich Islands, with their stran^i^e 
and nn]>ron()uneeal)le names, while I never failed to read the 
words " Sunday Noon Library" above the doors of a closed 
cabinet, at one side of the pulpit, -and which, though painted 
over, can still be dimly traced in the northeast corner of the 
ui)per room of the chapel. 

It was while an evening meeting, held in this room one cold 
winter's night, was breaking up, that an alarm of fire was 
sounded, and word flew a])out that the lecture room was burn- 
ing. The condensing vapor, that fell as the heated air from 
within poured out, gave currency to the rumor, and the indefa- 
tiiraljle, albeit somewhat nervous and excitable Col. I3arr, chor- 
ister of the church, in a state of wild perturbation, to the great 
entertainment, if not to the edification of the more phlegmatic 
and unmusical brethren, called loudly for a lantern, that he 
miglit climb into the loft, and, by the potent rays of the lamp, 
discover where the fire might be. 

This lecture room, beside at various times harboring both the 
Episcopal and Lutheran churches, continued to serve its pur- 
pose till the completion of the present chapel in 1869, when, 
after liaving afforded a temporary shelter to the local court, it 
wa>^ moved back to School street, where, shorn of its classic or- 
namentation and no longer white, it still does honest, if homely, 
duty as a sui)ply and store house for the fire department. 

Late in the evening of Sunday, the ninth of January, 1834-, 
fire was discovered in the second meeting house, but the flames 
were soon controlled, and little damage was done. Just seven- 
teen years later, on the morning of Sunday, January ninth, 
1851, the cliuivli again took tire, this time from one of the 
stoves, and the interior was burned so that extensive repairs 
would have been needed to refit it for use. After various 
propositions and counter-projects, it was decided to aband<»n the 
old structure and to build anew. Accordingly the building 
was, soon sold and moved from the old site, the church mean- 
while meeting in a hall in the lirick block on the west side of 
North street, just south of the present ('cntral block, till the 
completion and dedication of the present church edifice, on the 
sixth of Jnlv, IS.'ia. 



34 

Mucli of interest is connected wtth this meetinsr-house of 
1793 to 1851, and many mementoes of it are still about us. 
It is probable that more than one of the Bibles used in it and 
belonging to the church is still in existence, but unmarked and 
unlettered as they have been, it is not easy to speak of them 
with certainty. The oldest 07ie of which I know, now in a 
sadly dilapidated condition, bears the date of 1S()P), and, in the 
space left for records, is printed, in large, plain letters, a list of 
the pastors of the church, beginning with Thomas Allen and 
ending with John Todd. The handsome copy of the Scri]3tures 
that for nearly two score years has lain upon the pulpit, bears 
upon its side this inscription : *•' Presented to the First Congre- 
gational Church and Society, in thankful acknowledgment of 
kindness received, by the Proprietors of Saint Stephen's Church, 
Pittsfield, Anno Domini, 1852." The beautiful copy of the 
Revised Version, in five volumes, with their protecting case of 
oak, to be seen behind the pulpit, was the gift of a son of this 
church, and the Secretary of the American Committee upon 
the Revision of the Scriptures, the minute of whose ba})tism is 
still to l)e read ujwn its records. Each of the volumes bears 
upon its handsome black morrocco side, in plain gold letters, 
the words: " Presentation Copy from the American Committee 
of Revision, A. D. 1885," and underneath these, simply, " First 
Church in Pittsfield, from George E. Day, March 19, 1886." 

The mahogany tal)le Iwfore me, aiui now in use in the chapel 
by the Superintendent of the Sunday School, and the two 
chairs of the same wood near me, of whose two companions 
and the long sofa used with them we have lost all trace, formed 
the subject of a letter, written some years ago, l)y Mrs. 
Curtis T. Fenn, of fragrant memory, to a mendjer of this 
church, a copy of which I am glad to be able to read to you. 

"In 1820 it was thought best to have a new communion table and four 
chairs. There had never been chairs before. As our old pine table of an 
oval form, covered with green baise and trimmed with a gi'een fringe would 
not compare with the then talked of slips, the table and chairs were pur. 
chased, but we sat in oin- square boxes for a long time. The deacons were 
consulted ; they were three in number, Eli Maynard, Daniel Crofoot and 
Charles Goodrich. Whether the deacons or the ladies made the purchase, I 
do not know. I paid two dollars, and suppose each of the ladies paid the 
same, perhaps more." 



35 

IIow liir^c till' imiril)cr of ladies was, I do not know. If it 
was Clonal to tliu iiuinhcr now connected with the church, or to 
those present at an annual meeting of the Free W^ill Society, 
the furnitui-e must have cost a royal sum. 

This clnirch is fortunate in the possession of its connnunion 
service of silver, every piece of which has been in use upon 
this mahogany table. Almost all of it is severely plain, with 
hardly a scratch or dejit upon it, very handsome and endeared 
])y long association. The four tumbler-siiaped cups, clearly 
mai-ked in bold, strong script, with the words, "Pittsfield 
Church," and below these, on one of them, the date, 1800, were 
bought in that year, by the women of the church. In the first 
volume of its records appears a vote of thaidcs by the church, 
to its female mend)ers, for the gift, followed by the interesting 
note that the cups cost sixty dollars. 

Tlie four goblets came to the church with the coming back 
of the Union Parish, to which they had been given by Mrs. 
Mary Sti-ong, and all are nuu'ked as gifts, with her name. The 
records of that society, under date of January second, 181 (J, 
mention these four silver goblets in a vote of thanks to "Widow 
Mary Strong. 

The four plates, three of them of the same pattern, were 
bought for the church, in New York, by Deacon Phinehas Al- 
len, who also bought the desert spoon, marked with the church's 
name, at the same time. This must have been since the comino: 
of Dr. Todd, for it was to relieve the annoyance of the good 
Doctor, at his inability to remove an occasional S])eck that 
would float upon the surface in some goblet, that l\[v. Allen 
bought the spoon. 

In 1805 there is reference nuide, in the records of the cliurcli. 
to the gift of a silver "bason" from Oliver AVendell, Es(|., of 
Boston, a distinguished j)atriotof that Pevolutionarv town, a man 
whose iiitluciice made itself felt upon the social life of Pitts- 
field, and the grandfather of the wise and witty little nuin who 
has been so much of a favorite among us. Some confusion may 
possibly have arisen as to this gift, for the beautiful bowl, from 
which so many here i)resent have been ba})ti/.ed, a perfect sj)ec- 
inu'ii of the silversmith's art, bears, distinctly engraved uptm 



36 

its side, the statement that it was the gift of Ohver Wendell, 
Es(|., of Boston, to the Union Parish, of Pittsfield, in ISlO. 
Whether this engraving was done snbse<|nently, under a misap- 
jjrehension, or whether there were really two bowls, one of 
which has disappeared, I cannot now say. 

It is of interest to read that in ISIS the church, having " no 
further use for certain cups, presented many years since by the 
late Charles Goodrich, Esq., for the Communion table," voted : 
'' that the said cups be delivered to his son, Dea. Charles Good- 
rich," to be " by him presented, in the name of the Church, to 
the Congregational Church in Pittsfield, Vermont," hj which 
they are still used. The next July this gift was supplemented 
by another of the tankards, for which there was no further use. 
These also had been presented ])y Charles Goodrich, and it is ])ro])- 
aljle that the two tall tankards now nsed, which, unfortimately, 
are not of silver, had been bought not long l)efore this time. 

The fire of 1S51 destroyed the organ then in the church, not 
the first, however, that the old south gallery had held. As far 
back as 1816, Joseph Shearer, who certainly deserves to be hon- 
ored by this church and town, for six years later he presented 
the latter with the clock that still regulates our comings and 
our goings, gave the church the first of the organs that it has 
had. But though glad to receive it, the church seems to have 
shown small appreciation of the gift, possibly because no one 
was able to use it, though it has been intimated that its pagan 
presence was an unwelcome intruder, at that time, within the 
walls of a 'New England meeting house, and the pipes became the 
plunder of the l)o_ys about the village streets. From this time 
until ISlf), when another organ, a second-hand instrument, was 
purchased, the accompaniment to the singing was fnrnished by 
an orchestra, the flute played by Dr.. Robert Campbell, and an- 
other of the instruments in which was a ponderous bass viol, a 
j)art of which is still in the possession of Mr. John C. West, 
and is to be seen to-day hanging in a corner of the chapel. 

The introduction of so worldly a thing as this base viol 
caused at least one man in town, whose descendants are still 
living here, to forbid his family to enter the meeting-house thus 
desecrated by the frog-like sounds of this invention of the Evil 



3Y 

One. Its manipulator was a Mr. Men-inian, l)ut once liis strengtli 
and liis skill failed to have their usual eil'eet upon the product 
of the woi'kshop of the Prince of Dai'kness, hecause, alas I one 
of the enterprising boys of the town had drawn its mighty l)()\v 
across his freshly greased hoot. 

This organ of 1S4(> was considered a great addition to the 
town, and its capabilities were shown by means of an elaborate 
})ublic concert. The first organist to have charge of this in- 
strument was Miss Helen Dunham, a daughter of Deacon James 
H. Dunham of the Sontli Cluirch. • 

With the building of the present church came a fine organ, 
secured through the efforts of Mr. David Campbell, fiom the 
factory of the Messrs. Hook in Boston. Like its predecessors, 
it found its home in the south gallery, where it stood until 187<:i, 
when many of its pipes, having the tone and sweetness which 
only time and use can give, fomid their way into the organ now 
before you, made by the firm of Johnson & Son of Westfield, 
and the generous gift to this society of Mr. George AV. (^imp- 
bell and his sister. Mrs. Col. Thaddens Clajip. 

Not the least interesting ties tliat liiud this chiircb to the olil 
meeting-house are the oaken communi(»n table, chairs and 
settees, given by Mr. and Mrs. Jason Clapp, carved in Canaan. 
New York, by an Englishman in Mr. Clapp's eni))loy, John 
Varney, and made from wood taken from the old building, 
probably from a pill.ir from the belfry, and jjossibly from the 
very one furnished by Capt. Ingersoll. 

Of the present beautiful church I have little need to speak. 
Like its predecessors it has been oi)en to all that was best and 
noblest in the life of our town, and like its innnediate precursor 
it has once opened its arms to welcome all the world to a meet- 
ing of the American Board. Like the two that have gone be- 
fore it, it is the child of the soil of our county, for the stones 
for its walls were taken from a (juarry in Adams, and those foi* 
the corners came from Gi-eat Barrington. Its architect, Leop- 
old Eidlitz, of Xew Y(»rk, a man thought worthy to be associa- 
te<l with the great Richardson in the task of attempting to 
bring order, fitness and beauty c»ut of the chaos of elements in 
the Capitol at Albany, is still living; the children, grand-chil- 



38 

dren and great-grand-cliildren of its builder, Levi Goodricli, 
and one member of its building conmiittee, John C. West, are 
with us to-daj ; while the church itself, substantially unchanged, 
stands as it has stood in our midst fur more than a generation. 
The stone chapel in its rear, now more than half the age of the 
church, but little changed in twenty years, adds much to its 
convenience, while its l)eauty has been greatly enhanced by the 
decoration of its walls, seven years ago this spring, under the 
direction of Mr. Prentice Tread well. 

Xhe parish itself has honored the memory of three of its 
ministers by the marble tablets now upon the walls of the ves- 
tibule, while the figures, m robes of richly colored glass, in the 
window under the east gallery, the gift of Mr. Harding in 1882, 
and the work of Mr. Tread well, keep green the memories of 
E'ancy Campbell Harding and two of her children, Malcolm 
and Hope. 

Very fitting is it too, that the great south window, \^nth its 
gorgeous coloring, given by Mrs. Henry G. Marcjuand of New 
York, a grand-daughter of the first minister of the clnirch, in 
memory of her parents, Jonathan and Eunice Williams Allen, 
made by Louis Tifi^any and uncovered in 1882, should look both 
southward and northward over the ground whereon stood the 
two pulpits that Mr. Allen filled so long and so well. 

Such have been the surroundings and some of the belongings 
of this First Church of Pittsfield during the century and a 
quarter of its existence. Who or what shall be after us we do 
not know ; but surely we can fondly cherish the hope that our 
descendants and successfors, one hundred and twenty-five years 
from to-day, may find this stately edifice still standing, mel- 
lowed by time, further enriched and adorned by the hand of 
man and still tenanted l)y a church whose beneficent and up- 
lifting influence shall be shed upon the Town of Pittsfield, the 
County of Berkshire, the Connnonwealth of Massachusetts, and 
throughout the length and breadth of this earth that we in- 
habit. 



THE IHSTORICAL RELATIONS OF 

CHURCH TO TOWN AND PARISH 



BY JAMES M. BARKER. 



A century and a (luarter ao:(), tiic ciylit foniidatiou uiuii, to .'''^IfS'rf'^ E^" 

•J 1 & ' n ' tcntf)! New En- 

tile story of wliose lives y<m have just listened, were here g<^th-y.['^'|'|^(^,j],'j';'^^^^ 

ered as the First C'hurch of (/hrist in Pittsfield. As tiiey lL'ftP^,{,-y(^^^^j.g^^j 

the dwelling where they had signed that confession of faith ftiid lij'g^^. p'jj!^,^!,,",^ 

covenant, went, and in that short procession through the snow i'aws!p^'"i.' °'' 

to the little meeting-house, there walked with them, after their the" cdiony'^ of 

omnipotent God and the Power of His AVord, other unseen hut illyTie-jgfAnc^ 

weH-niarshalled forces; those (»f human government and of Bay. p. ". ' ^^*' 

statute law, long time prepared. Our theme involves these the Province of 

forces. The relation of an old New England church to Town setts Baj!(i69i) 

and Parish has its root and key in the i)ur])oses and laws of the Mass. naV,!)'. is. 

. . , , . ^ The Explana- 

Original colonists, torv charter. 

/^ 1 1 /-I 1 <'"-''• Anc. C. A 

lo j)reach tlie (rospel unto every creature was a command- 1- of Mass. Bay 
ment of their Lord, although lie came not to institute an 
earthly govenmu'nt, hut to so save and mould man, that whether 
ruler or suhject his acts and institutions should, in the end, he 
perfect in righteousness, ju.stice, and mercy. 

But the command to preach seemed paramount to men who, ''''',*; J\'*.^'^°^V' 

y 1 or t oiii pa<' I. 

on hoard the :^^ayilower, had solemnly declared that they Had *,•;'•.;; -^V.l.i^ws 

undertaken their voyage for the glory of God, and the advance-''- '^• 

ment of the (Miristian faith ; and to their successors, who reit- (;onerai Laws 

' A Liberties of 

crated that the irreat and known end of the first comers was ^^^ Plymouth 

r^ ( Dloiiy, ilRi \.) 

that they might enj<>y the pure, scriptural worship of (iod,and '''>;^''"''"^*'' 
that their children after them might walk in the holy ways (»f 
the Lord. 

It was incvitahl*' that such men shouM scriouslv consider the 



40 
Laws of New great defect tliat is like to 1 )e for want of an Able, Godly, 

Plymouth, Ses- *=> i 

sion of 165 7. Teaching Ministry, and slionld ordam that the pnblic worship 
p- 101. and service of God should be maintained in every township ; 

piymoixth, Ses- that all wlio ill any lazy, slothful or profane way shonld neglect 

sion ofl651. , iii n i iti ^ • i i i 

piym. Col. L.,to atteiifl, shonld l)e lined or publicly whipped; that the corn- 
Laws of New fortal)le support of the minister should be assured by propor- 
sions'"of''i655^ tional taxes upon the inhal)itants according to their abilities ; 
L.,pp. iwl'ioL ' that all churches orderly gathered should be protected and en- 
L?bertiefo?N^ t'ou raged by the government in their peaceable and <.)rderly 
viS of' 1658: walking, and the Faithful, Al)le, Orthodox, Teaching Ministry 

Addressof Sept ,1 £ -\ i ii "iix" 

29. piym. Col. tliereoi duly encouraged and providetl tor. 
se^.^'of 1662, Similar views and ordinances obtained in the Colony of Mas- 
1678.' Piym. Col! sachusetts Bay. There every inhabitant was required to con- 
i.V), 186, 187. ''tribute to all charges both in Church and Commonwealth 

TheGen.Laws c i ^ i^ i i i • i ^i_ ,i 

& Liberties of wliereot, as the act says, " he doth or may receive beneiit. 

New Plymouth -r . -r. , ^ t •, • it, i • -i c i 

Colony. Revi,s- In its Bodv 01 Liberties the lil)erty and privileges ot the 

ion of 1671, Ch. "^ ■, -, t- ^ i i i- ^ /-n • • 

1, p. 8: Ch. 3, p. cnurclies w^ere abundantly dehned ; the duty of the Christian 

9, 10. 11,12: Ch. T 1 n n -1 

8. Piym Col. L. magistrate to take care the peoiue be fed with wholesome and 

p. 242, 248, 249, & ' ^ 

'^H?^ ~''}^- T sound doctrine, declared ; contemptuous behavior towards the 

TheGen.Laws 5:1 

& Liberties of pi-gapi^y J "Word or tlic messeugers thereof , punished : the courts 

the Ma.ss. Col. o ' r 7 

Title "Charges empowered to order and appoint what maintenance should be 
^ritie^^-' Eccies- allowed to Ministers provided for all places and all people within 
iasticai" pp. 43- ^j^gjj. gatcs, that SO the name of their Lord being known and 
men*,Non-Free: exalted lie might still delight in them, and continue liis favor- 
"Tltie"Hen3sfeable ])resence, and their unj^aralleled eniovmentsboth temporal 
fr'-'"';P-'^ and spiritual. 

bath,^" pp. 132*- Tlic people of the Province w^ere largely of Pilgrim and 
^Ti'tie "sch'is" Puritan descent ; they had been reared under the teachings of 
'^Laws'"of'i675. the Colouists, and their laws were drafted in the same spirit, 
^aws'of 1677, At its first session in 1662 the Provincial Legislature enacted 
f2%, 250. 259.) ' ' statutes for the better observation and keeping of the Lord's 
pp. 66, 69,-7i;dav, and for the settlement and suiiport of Ministers in every 

(266 269-271 ) " . ^ 

"" 't y thing- town. Tlicsc Ministers wcrc fii'st to be selected bv the church, 

men's Duty." . • ,-> i , i i r-t' •^ -j- .1 

Mass. Colonial and the choice ratmetl by the town, or by a Council it they 

L. p. 339-341. i/ :> 1/ •/ 

Same statu- could uot agree. In case of neglect, the courts had power to 

tes also found ° '=' . , •j> i 

in Anc.ch.&L. compel the settlement and support of a minister, and if there 

of Mass. Bay. ^ ^ ^ 

pp. 41 211. Mass. Perpetual Laws CiM of 1742,) Ch. 7, pp. 14, 15 ; Ch. 10, pp 17, 18; Ch. 12, p. 21. Mass. 
Perpetual Laws (Ed. of 1742,) Ch. 20, p. 36. Act of 1695, Ch. 9, p. 70. Act of 1702, Ch. 3, pp. 153, 154. Act of 
1718 Ch. 8, pp. 215, 216. Act of 1742, Ch. 8, pp. 331, 332. Act of 1751, Anc. Ch. & L. of Mass. Bay, Ch. 241, 
I)p. 577, .578. Act of 1754, Anc. Ch. & L. of Mass. Bay, Ch. 259, pp. 605, 606. 



41 

was no gfitliercd clmrcli lie slionld l)e selected Ity the town witli 
tlie advice of three neighboring ordained ministers. 

This compulsorv sn|)])ort was promised to al)lc and leai'iied Act of 1700, 
orthodox ministei's, and hecanse some ignorant and ilhterate i)er-()f Mass. Bav, 

Ch 27'J 1)1) G2i 

sons had been settled, assessments for the support of a minister oaa." " 
thereafter settled were forbidden, nnlcss he had been educated 
at some university, college, or pid)li(' academy for instruction in 
the learned languages ami in the arts and sciences, or had i-e- 
ceived a degree fi-om such an institution, oi- a testimonial, under 
the hands of themajoi'ity of the settled ministers of the county, 
that he was of sufficient learning to (pialifv him for thc^ work 
of the ministry. 

Under such laws, the territory now rittsticld was set apart 
for a township, and the First Church of Christ in Pittsfiekl was 
gathered. AVhen such a government granted new townships, 
it was sure to make precise provisions for the support of relig- 
ious teaching. 

On June 27, 1735, the town of Boston obtained a right to 
locate three townships each six miles scpiare, and the right to 
Boston Township Ko. 3, sold in June, 1736, was exercised in 
1738, when tlie plat was accepted and allowed. 

The terms of the grant recpiired the settlement within five nist. of Pitts- 
years of sixty families of His Majesty's good subjects, inhabi- ('5; oo.^"'" '''''^' 
tants of the Province, Avho should improve their lands, l)uil(l 
and finish a suitable and convenient home for the public wor- 
ship of God, settle a learned oithodox minister, and provide 
for his honorable and c((mfortable sup])ort ; and also to lay out 
three house-lots, similar to the sixty for the settlers families, 
each to draw a sixty-third part of the connnoii land, one to be 
for the first settled minister, one for the ministry, and one for 
the schools. 

This townshii) was known until 176] as the I'lantation of Hist, of ntts- 
1 ontoosuc. It was not mcorporatcMl as a plantation until lv;)3, 'Ji. 

1 c^ I 1 1 i- 1 • 1- r • . ^^^^ "^ incor- 

aud on oei)teml»er I'Jtli ot that vear its nrst toi-mai proprietor sponition not 

' " ' ' printed. Seo 

meetin}' was lield. K«neral act 

^ l")l-i, Ch. 1, A. 

It voted a tax of three shillinirs on each settling: lot for the iS '*«'^- f'^ ^- of 

. . Ma.'i.s. Hay, p. 

support of lU'eaching, forty pounds for buildimr a meetin>r- '''''•?;. . ,™ 

• I ' _ e>'' .' 1 .-^ <-^ Hist, of Pilt.s- 

house, and raised committees to agree with some suitable ju'r, ').',''''■ ^"'i.p- 



42 

son or persons to preach, and to manage tlie whole affair of the 
meeting-house. 
o. .r,n, ^ n. Ill 1761 the plantation of Pontoosnc l^ecame the Town of 

St. JYol, C. Si, ^ 

Prov * f^ M^as^^ Pittsfield, by an act providing that no inhabitant or proprietor, 
434^435"^' ^' ^^' except those holding the sixty original lots, should be ol)liged to 
pay any part or proportion of the charge toward settling the 
first minister or building a meeting-house. 

Thus the newly gathered church found ready a civil govern- 
ment whose main purpose was to protect and aid religion. A 
town charged with the duty and clothed with the power of 
furnishing financial support. Certain landed proprietors who 
had contracted to build a place of worship and supply the ma- 
terial inducements for the settlement of a minister. Awaiting 
that settlement to become his absolute property, a settling lot 
of one hundred acres, including the site of this edifice, and 
other lands drawn in the division of the commons. Also a 
similar lot and lands drawn by it, devoted to the supi>ort of the 

Prov.Laws,St. "^ ' . . , » 

1754, ch 12, s 2. ministry, the income of which wonld be the ministers for life, 

A. & Res. ot P. -^ 

of Mass. Bay, ^nd which could be sold only with his concurrence. 

Vol. 4, pp. 778, _ _ •^ _ . . , , 

''1^: . r T,-..^ In advance of his comine; this corner of the minister s lot 

Hist, of Pitts- c? 

fig^Jd, Vol.1, pp. ija^(j \)QQxx cleared and appropriated for a burial ground and 
church common. A meeting house had been erected, and, 
though unfinished, was in use for religious and town meetings. 
Several candidates had been received, and he who was to be- 
come the first settled minister had preached as a probationer 
since the early part of the preceding Deceml)er. To effectuate 
the settlement, the concurrence of church, proprietors, town, 
and candidate was necessary, and the a]iproval of a council of 
neighboring churches usual. 

With perfect unanimity the Church on March 5, ] 764, elected 
its pastor ; the Town ratified the choice and voted a salary of 
sixty pounds a year to be increased five pounds annually up to 
eighty pounds, and the Proprietors voted ninety pounds in 
three yearly instalments to enable him to settle himself among 
among them. These tenns were accepted on March 2(>, 1764, 
and the ordination solemnized on the IStli of April. 
Hist of Pitts- Bv these acts the first minister of Pittsfield was settled, and 

field, Vol. 1, pp. -J . , , 11- 

164, 165. became owner in fee of the minister s home and out lots, enti- 



43 

tied to tlic iiicuiiic (if the ministry lands, and to liavc his yearly 
salary assessed upon the polls and estates of the inhabitants of 
the town, and colleeted and paid over to him by its officers. 
( )n(' of his iirst acts, an earnest of his public spirit, was to Hist, of Pitts- 
confirm to the town by deed that portion of his home lot, I'w. i'hami)iiiet 
which, ])efore his cominfj;, had been devoted to public uses. Alien. 

By finishiui!; tlie meetinji;-house, and the payment of their 
ninety pounds, the proprietors fulfilled tlicir obli<rations, and 
thereafter had no corporate connection with church <n' ministry. 
Charged with the duty of maintaining the worship of God, 
were the minister, the church and the town. 

The church, ])i-esidcd over l)y the minister as moderator of 
its meetings, had sole authority in matters of membership and 
discipline. Its j)roceedings were recorded in its own church 
records. 

The iidiabitauts of the town, in their corporate capacity, 
raised tlic money necessary to pay the minister's salary, the ex- 
penses of the meeting-house and of conducting ])ublic worship. 
They met for secular purposes in the meeting-house, and by 
their connnittees regnlated the order in which the congregation Hist, of Pitts- 
were seated, saving the rights of the few owners of pews inis-^. i^- 
the original edifice. The selectmen had care of the meetin*'-- 
house as of other town property. Order during i-eligious ser- 
vices was enforced by tithingmen, officers chosen ])\ the town. 
Ecclesiastical and secular matters were considered in the same 
meetings, under articles of the same warrants, and the votes 
were recorded ])y the town clerk in the same record. 

Whoever bv residence or birth became an inhabitant of the st. igk, ch. 26, 

T 1 'i 1x1^ IP 1 SS 1,3. St. 1693, 

town was liable as sucli to be taxed tor the su])i)ort of preach- <^'- ^'^•?'S;7-n. a. 

. IT- . »V: KfS. of I'lov. 

ing. and, if a voter, had voice and vote m town meeting upon of ').V'*'^.-, "^y- 
ecclesiastical as upon other (piestions. 

The onlv legal exce])tions were Quakers, ljai)tists and Ei)is- Pivm. coi. 

T ' T» X 1 t r . . Laws, pp. 102, 

coijalians. By temporary laws, renewed from time to time, the hisih, i',s, 125, 

. .. , . 12G, 127, 12D. 130. 

two former denominations were relieved from liability for as- Mass. coi! 

/.,.., Laws, pp. 48, 

sessments tor ecclesiastical puri)oses: and by a standing law the '^''''•■^- ^'^^^ =^- 

1 ., , Prov. Laws, 

town treasurer must deliver to their own minister taxes for the |~*- c 10, voL 

1, p. 505. 

support of pul)lic worship collected of professed members of y^J^,"'-'', *^''';g^: 
the church of England, if such minister and Iiis church war-^''^'^.H,_.3o ^.^ „ 



44: 

Vol. a, pp. 543, dens certified to their membership and usual attendance: and 

544. 

1731-3, ch. 11, in all these cases the Quaker, the Baptist and the Ei)iscoi)alian 

Vol. 2, pp. 019, . . . . , 

620. were deT)arred from votino; in town meetinc; upon ecclesiastical 

1734-5, Cli. 6, ^ to i 

Vol. 2, pp. 714, matters. 

' 1740-41, Ch. 0, Vol. 2, pp. lOSl, 1022. 1747-8, Ch. 6, Vol. 3, p. 362. 1752-3, Ch. 15, Vol. 3, pp. 044, 045. 
1755-6, Ch. 32, Vol. 3, pp. 915, 916. 1757-8, Ch. 20, Vol. 4, pp. 67, 68, 3 Gray, 34. 1758-9, Ch. 18, §5, Vol. 4, 
pp. 180, 181. 1760-1, Ch. 21, Vol. 4, pp. 419, 420. 1763-4, Ch. 25, Vol. 4, p. "681. 1770-1, Ch. 10, Vol. 5, pp. 
111-113. 1774, Ch. 6, Vol. 5, pp. .392-394. 1777-8, Ch. 4, Vol. 5, p. 732. 1779-80, Ch. 18, Vol. 5, pp. 1120- 
1125. 1742, Ch. 8, Vol. 3, p. 25. Laws of Mass. Vol. 1, p. 546. St. 1797, C. 23. St. 1799, C. 87. 

lis*^ 7'Ma>"^89^^ Besidcs these provisions the legislature, l>j special acts, crea- 

V '^Coie Viviass^ *^^^ Poll-Parislies, of certain named persons and their estates, 

^\in;rsbury v '"^*^^ i)rovided modes bj which others could join them. Mem- 

s^ack, 8 Mass. j^yj.g ^f gnd^ Poll-parislies, by filing- proper certificates with the 

Town Clerk, were liable to assessment in their own parish. 

They were not in terms debarred from voting in town meetings 

upon ecclesiastical questions, but usually did refrain. 

St. i7a5, Ch. The effect of the creation of a poll-parish in any town, was 

10.' Laws of that its remaining inhabitants in their corporate capacity tliere- 

pp.'22', 261.' ' upon became a parish, and the First or Principal parish in that 

77. Law's of place, and so remained charged with its religious duties. Upon 

Mass., Vol. 3, p. ^ - . , ^ ^ . ^ , 

157 such a separation the corporate property oi the town was l)y 

nilin^'hani v i x i. t/ */ 

Snow, 5 Mas?, operation of law divided. That portion which had been held 
Brunswick for secular purposes remained the property of all the inhabi- 

Pansh V. Dun- ^ ^ . i i ./ 

nins, r Mass. taiits in their corporate capacity as a town; but that held for 
Mmot V. Cur- 1-eligious uscs became the peculiar property of the First parish. 

Brown v. Porter, 10 Mass. 97. Milton Parish v. Milton, 10 Pick, 447. Shrewsbury Parish v. Smith, 
14 Pick, 297. Ludlow v. Sikes, 19 Pick, 317. Medford Parish v. Medford, 21 Pick' 199. Tobey v. Ware- 
ham Bank, 13 Met. 440. Sudbury Parish v. Jones, 8 Cushing, 184. 

After such a sej)aration the officers of the town were, not- 
withstanding, ex-ojficio the officers of the First parish. It was 
ThomVs" 14 the regular, although not the usual, practice to deal with 
"^Ashety v.Wei- Gcclesiastical matters in meetings called for that purpose alone, 
imgton, 8 Pick, .^^^^ |.^ wliich Only those entitled to vt;>te with the First parish 
were warned. 

This was in substance the legal status until 1S34. The state 
Par?!, Art. III! constitution of 1780 reaffirmed the right of government to re- 
quire suitable provision for public worship and the support of 
ministers, and to enjoin attendance at church, but declared that, 
if the tax payer re(|uired it, all moneys paid by hiin should be 
uniformly applied to the support of the minister of his own 



45 

religious ,sL'ct ur dciiuiuination, on wliobo instructiuiis liu at- 
tended. 

No lei2;isliiti()ii was framed to carry out this constitutional 
provision until 17UU, when all the old statutes were rei)ealed hy 
an act confirming tlie liberties and privileges of the churches, 
re(piiring every town, parish, and religions society to be con- st. iTtm, c. wr. 

. ,1 • I \ ^.^ IT , 1 ,. . Laws of Macs., 

stantly j^rovided witli a pul)lic protestant teacher of piety, re- Voi.a.vp.ai-rw. 
ligion, and morality, with ])ower to lay taxes for his supi)ort. 
But the assessors nn'ght omit those who belonged to and usually 
attended another denomination, and, if taxed, they might l)y 
filling a cei-tificate ])rocure the ])ayment of the tax to their 
own ministers. This statute declared the law as it had been „. ,^ . . „. , 
understood and acted upon by the peoi)le, and when in 18 H> it|;''Vi"ss I'oV^^^' 
was unex])ectedly construed by the Court to provide for pay- fiJur Parisi^ ^r 
ments to ministers of incori3orated religious societies onlv, tlie^'sfnitf v. Da'- 
Legislature by a new ^'Act Respecting Public Worshij) and Abr":Mr. ^''°''' 
Religious Freedom," promptly [)laced memliers of uninc(»r])(>-i.a^wsof''£'si 
rated religious societies njxm the same footing; and in this^re'' ^' ''''■^'^' 
statute the Wmitntlon protestant is not found. 

In 182-1: an easv mode of changini;: membershii) from one ..^V^**~-^'*^"'"^ 

" ^ ' (Feb. le, lK:i4,) 

religious society to another of the same or a different denomi- ''.*y^5 "^ ^'^'l^- 

, ' . > Ol. •}, pp. o'2-b4. 

nation was ])rovi(led, and the taxing of a citizen who bt'louocd 
to any religious society by any other was forbidden. 

The principles of compulsory inembershij) of some parish, 
and of compulsory contribution by taxation for the expense of 
public worshij), still remained in the constitution and the 
statutes. 

The adoption of the eleventh constitutional amendment in const. Aradt. 
1834, and the enactment of a statute of that year, freed the cii'' ^ii.^*' The 
towns from obligation to supi)ort religious teaching and wor-iH:«"'iK:34,'^ pp! 
ship, left everv one free to withdraw from his parish or society «• ii<M, Ch. 

.... * 18H *s'* 

without joining aiiothei-, and declared that no j)erson theivafter 
should l)e made a niemlter without his (»wn express consent. 

The power of parishes antl religious societies to tax actual l^*-. '*^' cb- 
members was however expressly reatHrmed, and remained until s't.'iHS7.e.4i9. 
the first day of January, 1888, when, under the operation of 
an act which declares that religious societies shall not assess 
taxes on the [)olls or estates of their members, it finallv exjiii>d. 



46 

Fonnded in and regulated by these laws, the .story of the re- 
lations of the First Church to the Town and Parish is credita- 
ble ; displayini; depth of Christian feehng on the part of the 
church, liberality and wisdom on the part of the town, and com- 
plete fulfilment of duty by the Parish. 
St. 1795, C.28, The tii-st i)olbi)aris]i, a Bai)tist society, was chartered in 1795, 

Mass. Spec. Ls. '■ ii'i tt -r»'i 

Vol. a, pp. 4, 5. and by that act, under the general law, the lirst Parish came 
into legal existence. 
..- . .„•.* Before this time, however, the number of Baptists, Ei)isc(>- 

Uist. ot Pitts- ' ^ i 

fieW| ^'oi. 1, c. p<^]iaiis, and Shakers, had increased to alxtut a tenth of thejx)])- 
ulation. Ihit in the conduct of town affairs the presence of 
these denominations was practically ignored. The town meet- 
ing voted the minister's salary, made appropriations to reim- 
burse his losses consequent upon his patriotic services to the 
country, and dealt with the proceeds of the sale of the ministry 
and school lands, as though there were no conflicting feelings 
and interests. This course gave rise to so much dissension that 
in 1788 a formal attempt was made with some success to re- 
move the causes of uneasiness. The work of building the 
second meeting-house was commenced immediately after this 
episode. The town devoted to it as well as the proceeds of a 
tax levied u])on all its inhal)itants, as the funds already in its 
treasury retdized from tlie sale of the ministry and school lands. 
This a])pro[)riation of the town moneys was unsatisfactory to 
the citizens wh(t did not worship with the First Churcli, and 
they protested against the collection of the tax. The town at 
first stoutly maintained its position, but, when it Ijecame appa- 
rent that a suit brought by a dissenter against its assessors and 
collector would 1)6 successful, they gracefully assented to the 
payment of the dissenters' meetingdiouse taxes to their own 
religious teachers, and so this trouble was for the time ended. 

The whole town was justly proud of the new meeting-house 

of 1790, and although in the town records no mention is made 

that it was intended for religious purposes, and in the church 

records no intimation that it w^as building for their use, it was 

Hist, of Pitts- never used for town meetings or secular purposes. 

cai'^pamphi^ts; From its completion apparent quiet reigned until ])olitical 

Atheni«um,etc. j^g^^^j.^^^y^^j. i,ecame SO bitter as to divide the inhabitants of the 



47 

town into t\v.. apparently iiTconciliil.le factions, almost lil«- 
hostile armies. The church itself was rent in twain. ( )n the 2Ttli 
of Febniarv, 1H()9, the two houses of the Lej^islature, hy an act 
which the Governor would not si-n, incorporated the disaffected ^sj^ipc.}03. 
coni^regationalists into a reli-ious society by the name of " Un- usnat^Edition« 
ion ' Parish;' and hy an exparte council a new congregational 
church was oro-aiiized. These new ori?anizations contained 
nearly half of the congregationalists in nund>ers and more than 
half in wealth. The c(»ntroversy, in press, pamphlet, corres- 
pondence, and conversati..n, was most hitter and distressing. In 
its midst tlie first minister of the town finished his earthly 
work and his son was settled in his place. On ()ctol)er 2'M, pittsfirtTown 

. , i_ i.' ii • ■ 4- .,, Records, 1809- 

1S()1>, the town voted $-iO().()0 for the support of the ^i^"'i^^'.>' isis im. asn, 
to he assessed exclusively on the polls and estates of the mem- 
bers of the First parish, and ordered the bell ringer to ring 
the meetingdiouse bell for the accommodation of all the ditfei-- 
ent parishes. The next year there was no article in the town 
warrant concerning preaching, Init the whole income of the 
town funds was voted for the support of schools. The (.nly 
..thcr mention of ecclesiastical matters in the town records, 
nntil 1 SI 7. is an endeavor to call the town treasurer to account 
for having paid the income of the town funds to the minister, 
notwithstanding the orders of the town to the contrary. 

P.nt however impossible it seemed, this estrangement was 
hapi>ily if not speedily terminated. V>j mutual action the two 
congregational churches were made one in the year 1817, and 



" !-^-^r."- . i. i- 1 i; St. 1817. e. 3«, 

the legislature, by an act respecting the support ..f P"''"** Map-^^i^ij-aws. 

worshi]. in the Town of Pittsfiehl, consolidated the Tnion °■•''''• 
parish with the First parish, and reinstated it in the position 
occupied by the Town as to ecclesiastical affairs before ls<>l». 
Nothing civi l>o more satisfactoi-y or instructive than the story 
of this'^rennion, due very much to the unselfish christian sjiirit 
of the ])astors of the two churches, each of whom iv>igned his 
settlement to ensure it, and thoroughly cemented by the tact 
an<l /.eal (.f the wise divine who became pastor upon the re- 
union. 

Ki'oiii this time the town resumed \t> lunctions in connection 



48 

with the church, transacting its ecclesiastical hnsiness in sepa- 
rate meetings, keeping in view the distinction between that and 
the ordinary town matters, and causing the moneys to he as- 
sessed and collected upon the polls and estates of the members 
of the congregational society. The limits of the parish land 
ticid!!^ ' Vol.' 2^ w^ere fixed upon the present lines by deed from the inhal)itants 
die iMst. Keg. of the Town, and all vent smoothly until the constitutional 
amendment and legislation of 1834 relieved the town from 
ecclesiastical duties. • 

Since that time the First Church has been ministered to in 
financial matters by the First Parish, with what faithfulness 
and goc»d will this edifice and its appurtenances, and the work 
and benefactions of which it has been the scene and center, 
attest. Until recently the people of the Town were wont to come 
to this spot, as to tlieir home, for union services of Fast and of 
Thanksgiving. May they never relincjuish the habit of here 
offering their prayers at sunrise upon the first morning of each 
new year. 

Such is the outline of the historical relations between church, 
parish, and town. Whoever would see it clothed upon with the 
personality of the actors, and would know accurately and intim- 
ately tlieir trials and triumphs, their depths of dissention and 
bickering, and their happy heights of peace and reconciliation, 
has only to consult the admirable and complete narrative pre- 
pared by the Historian of Pittsfield. 

For more than a century and a half tliis ground has been set 
apai-t for religious uses. Kever has it known the ownership of 
a private individual for private ends. No plough, held by hus- 
1 landman seeking earthly harvest, has scarred its surface. I>y 
no structure reared for man's own gain, or pride, or pleasure, 
has it ever l)ecn ])olluted. It is in truth virgin soil. "The 
groves were God's first temples.'" How grand and stately were 
the arches and aisles of the temple builded here by the inanimate 
forces of nature before man's coming, you may know by re- 
calling the tall and shapely stem and glorious crown of the old 
elm, which stood so long watching this hallowed ground. 

" All creatures praise him." Wlio shall say whether the 
tuneful chorus of birds mingling with the murmur of the 



49 

siiiniiier wiml in that luatdiloss grove ; tlicsigh of the soiitlicni 
ze])liyr, the hitter wail of winter gales through giant lieniloeks 
once standing here, were not some dim rehearsal of the song 
and ])rayer of Christian worshi]) which have now so long as- 
cended from this spot. 

Who shall say that the wild Hower s[)ringing from the un- 
trodden sward, hathed with golden sunlight flickering through 
the leaves, did not show forth the lily and the rose upon this 
altar sheltered hy these walls, glowing in the light of these 
jeweled windows, thrilling as this air pulsates with sacred music, 
witii grace of form, with perfume and with color, in this saci-i- 
ficial ending of their lives, praising Him ! 

Even as this site has been saved throughout the ages for its 
present use, so, hy His Providence, have the Parisli and tJie 
Church been kept, and are to-day here I Strong ! Hut now 
with no strength l)orrow(.'d fntm the arm of civil authority, and 
in the present rather than the standing order, ready and al)le, 
without forced or extraneous human aid, to spread ahntad yet 
more eii'ectually the " glad tidings of great joy to all men." 



50 

In 1S09 a petition was presented to tlie Genei-al Conrt asking 
tliat " a poll-parish by the name of ' Union Parish' l)e incorpo- 
rated in the town of Pittsfield.'" 

In accordaiiee with tlie prayer of this j^etition, an Act was 
passed h\ hotli houses of the Legislature, February 25, 1809 
eutitled "An Act to incorporate certain persons, inhal)itants of 
the town of Pittsfield, into a Religious Society by tlic name of 
'Union Parish,' in the town of Pittsfield." 

The following persons were the incor]K)rators named in said 
act : Woodl)ridge Little, Butler Goodrich, William Hollister, 
Titus Goodman, Titus Goodman, Jr., Daniel Pepoon, James D. 
Colt, Jr., Daniel James, David Campbell, David Cam})bell, Jr., 
Samuel D. Colt, John Sanford, Jeremy Warriner, Ralph War- 
riner, Milo Smitli, Lemuel Pomeroy, JSTathaniel Dexter, Aaron 
Newell, Reuljen Brooks, John Churchill, Jr., Fredericd Drake, 
Enoch White, Ambrose Collins, Moses Root, Ashbel Strong, 
Thomas B. Strong, John C. Williams, Ebenezer Center, Israel 
Peck, William Kittredge, Richard Barnard, John W. IIull)urt, 
Charles Goodrich, Charles Goodrich, Jr., Nathaniel Fairfield, 
Josepli Gasper, Zebulon Reed, Nathan Clark, Joseph Fairfield, 
Joseph Fairfield, Jr., Appleton Whitney, Elkanah Watson, 
Richard Campl)ell, Benjamin Newell, Abner Root, Edward 
Eells, Rufus Shumway, Josiah Willard, Stephen Mead, Will- 
iam Cadwell, Royal D. Cadwell, Benjamin Luce, Josiah Raot, 
Wills Fowler, Arthur Scholfield, Henry Taylor, Moses Hay- 
den, Jr., Ephi'aim Mead, Benjamin Kent, Joseph Merritt, Na- 
thaniel Tremain, Theodore Hinsdale, Jr., Isaac Ward, E])hraim 
Durwin, Ephraim Durwin, Jr., Alanson Durwin, Nathaniel 
Fairfield, Jr., Enoch Fairfield, John Fairfield, Absalom Backus, 
Elisha Ely, William Wilbur, William Partridge, Ira West, 
Jaslmb I). Luce, Zel)ediah Stiles, Daniel Chapman, Timothy 
Haskell, Reul)en Haskell, Sidney Haskell, Henry James, James 
Buell, Isaac Goodale, William W. Colt, Seaborn Burt, Erastus 
Sacket, Elias Keller, Henry Peck, Benjamin Keeler, Joseph 
Keeler, Ephraim Stiles, Thomas Gold, Rufus Johnson, Titus 
Wright, Isaac Freeman, Timothy Cadwell, Jason Clap]), Jona- 
than Childs, Isaiah Hnngerford, Calvin Sears, Jonatlian Wes- 
ton, Thomas Selvey, Stei)hen Fowler, Eliphalet Case, Ezra 
Colton, Ephraim Stiles and Quentus Pomeroy. 



THE CONGREdATlONAL MINISTERIAL FUND. 



BY WILLIAM R. PLUNKETT. 



W(>(»(ll)ri(li;e Little, whose will was dated March '20, ISlX,, 
and whicli was admitted to ])i-ol)ate August 3, 181S, l)e(|ueathed 
to the Union Parish five.lmndred dollars for estahlishing a fund, 
the interest of whicli was to Ije paid yearly towai-d the salary 
of the minister of that Parish, and he directed that the fund 
1)0 placed in the hands of Trustees. He says, "And as it has 
always heen my sincere and ardent desire to prevent the causes, 
and avoid the consecpiences, of the unhappy divisions whicli 
have taken place in the Congregational Society in this town, 
and wliich has issued in the establishment of Union Parish, 
so if, at any time, an Union should be effected between the two 
societies and Churches, on principles of Christian charity, and 
they become in fact one society and church, it is, in that case, 
my will and desire that said sum be appropriated tor the same 
purpose and in the same manner for the United Society.'' 

In \S'2'2 the Legislature ot" the State passed an Act t(» incor- 
porate the Trustees of the ^rinistei-ial Fund in the town of 
Pittsfield, and L)eacon Daniel Crowfoot, Calvin ^Fartiii. Samuel 
M. McKay, Thomas B. Strong, Jose})h Shearer, Nathan AVilli- 
and John C. AVilliams, were named in the act as Trustees. The 
object of the Corporation was declared to be " the prudent 
management of the fund of the Congregational Society in said 
town." The Coi-j)oration was authorized to dispose of the 
"ministerial lot of land." The Trustees were holdeii "to ren- 
der to the Con<jrey;ational Society a true account of their 
doings yearly." They were also reipiiriMl " to proxide thiit the 
income of the fun<l sliall be duly and i-egnlarly applii-d to the 
use designed, to wir : to the >ii|»|turt of the |)ublic worship of 
(iod in sai<l S<icict\." The cor poration \\a> organized uinlci'this 



52 

act, at the office of John Chandler Wilhams, May 7, 1S23, and 
John Chandler Williams was chosen President, Samuel M. 
McKay, Clerk, and Calvin Martin, Treasurer, the last named 
gentleman continuing in office until 1851. 

The Presidents of the Corporation have been John Chandler 
Williams, Joseph Shearer, Nathan Willis, Thomas B. Strong, 
Phinehas Allen, Edwin Clapp, William 11. Plunkett. 

The Treasurers, Calvin Martin, Henry G. Davis, John R. 
Warriner. 

The Clerks, Samuel M. McKay, Calvin Martin, Henry G. 
Davis, Jolm 11. Warriner. 

In 1827 the Corporation received for the sale of the remain- 
ing part of the ministry lot, reserved at the sale of the '' Town 
Commons," seven hundred dollars. In 1831 the Trustees re- 
ceived from the avails of a fund left hy Jolm R. Crocker, the 
interest of which liad been paid to his daughter during her life- 
time, the sum of four hundred and seventy-six dollars and 
ninety-four cents. In 1832 the will of Daniel Crowfoot was 
admitted to proljate, which gave the Trustees the sum of five 
hundred dollars, " the interest of which is to be appKed annu- 
ally to the support of the gospel in the Congregational Society 
in the town of Pittsfield," but this beipiest was not to be i)aid 
until the death of his wife, which occurred in 1863. 

In 1855 the Trustees sold to the Center School District, and 
others, a small i)ortion of the northwest part of the parsonage 
lot, for which they received $300. 

The monies received by the Trustees, as stated, amount to 
twenty-four hundred and seventy-seven dollars. 

In 1843 the Trustees paid to the First Congregational Parish 
the entire fund in their hands, viz., the sum of $1,67<'>.1>-1, and 
received therefor an absolute deed of the parsonage lot on 
South Street, and in 1859 made a further payment of $300, to 
l)e expended in ini})rovements and additions to the parsonage. 

The use of the parsonage house and lot is furnished to the 
Parish, as the interest of that sum, and the remahiing sum, 
five hundred dollars, is invested in a United States bond, and 
the income thereof annually paid to the Treasurer of the 
Parish. 



58 

Tlu' first ])ars(>iijii:;e was erected by tlie Rev. TIioiiuis Allen, 
at tlu' corner of Kast aiid First Streets, shortly after lie was 
settled as the ]»astor of rlic ('liiirch. It was a two-stoiw well 
hiiilt tVaiiie house, and was of the hcttci- class of houso luiilt 
previt^Mis to the year iSdO. 

It was not until Isjd that the Parish hecanie the owner of a 
jiarsonai^e. In that year it houu'lit of I)e;u-on Josiah IJissell 
the present ]>arsonai;-e lot. The house u[)on this lot was burned 
in 18-1:2, and the present j)arsonage was built by u\braliani I5nr- 
banlc, and has from time to time l)een added to and nia<le to 
conform to the modei'U ideas of a comfoi-t;ible home. 



A FEW FACTS 

CONCERNING THE BUILDINc; OF THE 

FIRST CHURCH IN PITTSFIELD IN 1851. i.:3. 



BY JOHN C. WEST. 



The story of a Oliurdi Imildiiii!; is not only of interest to the 
generation whose work it is, hut comes t(t have a deeper and 
more evident significance to those who fohow and become its 
iiilieritors. It also becomes to them an expression of the char- 
acter and a memorial of the builders themselves. 

As it is desirable that these stories should Ije told as truth- 
fully as possible, and as far as nuiy be in the spirit of the times 
to which they belong, I have made a simple record of a few 
facts connected with the building of the Church in which we 
now worship. I am moved to do this in compliance with a re- 
quest, and because I believe I am the only surviving mend)er 
of the building connnittee, except Gordan McKay. 

From the first I gave myself most heartily to work for it, 
and my personal connection with it nnist l)e my excuse for 
speaking in the first person. 

A generation has passed since that time, but there are many 
who will recall that memorable Sunday morning in January, 
thirty-eight years ago, when from the fire-blackened and de- 
faced old Church we went to Burl)ank hall for our accustomed 
service. 

Doctor Todd was with us, and showed himself e(]ual to the 
occasion, as he afterwards proved a leader able to hold his flock 
together though left shelterless. 

A lady of this (nnirch (tlien twevle years of age) of excel- 
lent memory, has sent me the text from which he preached that 



Siinday iiioniiiii;-, — an ('l<)(|U(Mit tax, — fcdlowiMl Uy an i'lo(|ii(Mit 
senuoii : '*■ JsaialH;4 : 11. Our lioly and i»ur Ix-autiful Ikhisi' 
wlicrc our Fathers praised tliee, is l)iinu'(l u|) with tii-e, and all 
our pleasant thinu;s are laid waste." 

I'lieiv had lieen foi' soini' time a fcclinii' tliat the (»ld structure 
must soon i;'ive [)laee to a new and ni(»re modern one, hut the 
tire hrouii'lit the (juestion hefore the peo])le for immedi;itc de- 
cision. ( )n j\[onday inoi-nini;-, the next day after the tire, there 
was a gathei'ing' of a few prominent men and a Parish meetiiiii; 
was called to consider the situation. At this meetinii:thei-c was 
a free aii<l full discussion. A few still cluiiu- to the old cliurch 
and a<lvo('ated its recoustructiou. hut in a shorter tinu,' than 
could l)e expected thev came to he of one mind, and the; i-esult 
was an almost unanimous vote to huild a new clnn'ch. Com- 
mittees were chosen for lookinii; up plans, collectin<;- money, A:c., 
and the work was at once taken up, not oidy with cheerfulness 
hut with genuine enthusiasm. 

The fact was accepted that the hurden of the tax and the 
work belonjred to the Parish. Thev did not shrink from it or 
ask lielp of otliers, nor were they wilhng to incur a deht foi- 
tlieir children to struggle with, after they had gone. 

One of the (lecide<l votes of this Parish meeting was that 
the funds for huilding should he obtained hy voluntary sub- 
scription, and no deht should he incurred. The men who t(»ok 
the lead in this matter have almost all passed from among the 
living, but their names deserve to be recorded as worthy of all 
imitation. Another vote at this meeting was that the Churcli 
should he built of stone, and have a seating caj)a('itv for eight 
hundred (S()(i) exclusive of the galleries. 

Tlic building committee consisted of Thomas F. IMunkett, 
Julius Ilockwell, E. 11. Kellogg, Levi (loodrich, (lordon iSfc- 
Kay, and myself. The first three gentlemen were out of town, 
and Mr. (joodrich became a competing contractor, so that most 
of the pri'linunary work devolved u[)on Mr. Afclvay and my- 
self. While the work of htoking up and considering plans was 
going on, the money was to be obtained. 

This part <»f the work I remend)er very distinctly, being on 
the finance committee, of which Oeo. W. ('am|)bell was chair- 



56 

man. Tliere was also added to my duties the collecting and 
paying the money. 

In raising the funds we adopted what we called dooming, 
that is, a kind of voluntary assessment l>ased in part upon a 
man's supposed resources, and in part upon his interest in the 
ol)ject and his sense of duty. These assessments were uni- 
formly and cheerfully accepted. The result was that with what 
was in the treasuiy from insurance and other sources, we had 
ahout twenty thousand (l^2(»,( »(»(») dollars at our command. 

After much looking, a church in New London, Conn., was 
selected as our model, altliongh, if carried out in detail, would 
far exceed our means. The architect of this church was Mr. 
Eidleitz, a well known artist of New York. He was consulted 
and made a new design in which he omitted one tower and 
spire, thus lessening the cost very materially. In the interior 
we were unwilling to make any change. The revised plan was 
now sul)mitted to the full committee, who had returned, and 
was approved l)y them and the Parish. But now a new diffi- 
culty arose. The estimates of the builders was twenty-two 
hundred and fifty ($2,250) dollars in excess of our funds, what 
was to he done ? We had cut down the external expenses of 
the building as far as we could, the interior we could not spoil 
by making any changes. It was hard to go again to those who 
had already given so liberally, l)ut there was nothing else to do, 
for we could not have a debt. 

The way in which these men responded to my call the next 
morning for the twenty-two hundred and fifty dollars, I can 
never forget. Deacon Allen, as soon as the case was presented 
to him, witli his usual prompt and decided manner, replied, 
" I will do it, Yes sir, I will do it ; and I will also put my name 
upon a guarantee paper to make up any reasonable deficiency.'" 
Others responded in like manner, so that within less than 
twenty -four houi"s I had the twenty-two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars. That evening I called the committee together and we 
closed the contract with Levi Goodrich and John C. Hoadly. 

Some of these men are so identified with the Imilding 
of tliis Church, that a record of it would be incomplete with- 
out their names. P. Allen & Son, Jason Clapp & Son, Thomas 



57 

F. Plmikctt, ,liilin> K..ck\\clK K. II. Kcll.,g- E. ii. Colt & 
Sons, Geo. W. Cjiiii|)1h'1I, .1. cV K. Pi-ck, L. Ponieroy's Sons, J. 
V. Kui-kcr t*c Hi'o., Win. 15. ('oi»k'\-, Ileni-v (\>\t, (Tt'ome and 
David (Vnipl)ell, Gorihui McKay, and many others. 

TIk- parish can see tu-daj wliat it has ohtained at a c(jst of 
less than twenty-hve tlionsand dollars, exclusive of furniture. 
This includes the organ, wdiich was put in when the (1nn-ch 
was l)uilt, and since removed to give place to the tine one, now 
in use, presented l)y (Teo. W. (^unphcll and his sister, Mrs. 
JJetsey Ghipp. 

The stone used in the main l)uilding was from the Pittsfield 
(piarries, while the front corner st(»ne, windows aii<l dooi' jams, 
was from the Great l>arrington (jnarries. 

The Ghurch Avas finished and dedicated duly, iSoS, it heing 
one of the model chui'ches of the present day in flii> counti-y. 



CHARITIES A^l) CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS. 



BY GEORGE N. BUTTON. 



The earliest orii;anized uietliod of givdii"; of wliicli mention 
is made m connection witli this church, was the formation in 
17H8 of tlie "Berkshire and Cohmibia Missionary' Society," for 
the purpose of sending the gos})el to new and destitute settle- 
ments. 

From a history of Berkshire, edited by Dr. Field, and pub- 
lished in 1820, we learn that up to that period, this church had 
contributed to said society the sum of >t^44y.2<», in addition to a 
legacy of $100, given by Woodbridge Little, Es(|., and one of 
$800 from Ashbel Strong. 

The amount contributed by this church from 1829 to 1850, 
was $2,880.78. The operations of this Society were contined 
principally to destitute places in the State of New York. 

Tlie church has always been generous in its annual donations 
to the American Bible Society. It is impossible to ascertain 
what proportion of the annual donations of Pittsfield to this 
Society came from members of this church and parish, Ijut 
probably more than one-half. In 1828 Bittslield contril)nted to 
this cause $148.18 ; in 1829, $205.(56. The annual contribu- 
tions in later years has often reached as high as $500. 

Froui the date of its formation in 1818, up to 1829, the 
county ''Education Society," for aiding indigent pious young 
men in tlieir education preparatory to the ministry, received 
from Pittslield the sum of $585.40. About this period — 1825 
— renewed interest was manifested in foreign missions. The 
" Berkshire Missionary Society" was formed, and the contribu- 
tions of this church, through that organizatio*!, aggregated be- 
tween eleven and twelve hundred dollars the lirst five years. 



59 

Wc learii fmiii tlic ('liui'cli lifcords, Nov. 24, isl'.t. that the 
••Aiiicricaii Educational Society" recjuested an annual c<>nti-il)ii- 
tioii of ^100. A committee was ap]>ointed to take tlie matter 
under advisement, and reported at a sid)sequent meeting tliat 
tliey approved of tlie proposition^ l)nt did not see liow it could 
be done when they considered the small number of male mem- 
bers belonging to the church, nearly a fourth i)art of them in 
straightened circumstances, and already burdened by the calls 
which are upon the church for aiding in the various efforts that 
are making for evangelizing the world. The committee did, 
however, recommend that a collection l)e taken in the months 
of March and November, and thought that in this way the sum 
of JB*^<* might be raised. The committee closed their report in 
the following words : "And now, l)rethren, we commend you 
to God and the word of Ilis grace ; beseeching II im to show 
us all that we ought to su})jiort and aid the weak, and to teach 
us to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, 'it 
is more blessed to give than receive.' " 

From the interest manifested in these various benevolent or- 
ganizations whicli were springing up during the first (piarter of 
the present century, it is evident that this church was not un- 
mindful of its mission. 

The church records contain fre(]uent allusions showing its 
tender watch and care over its indigent pool. At one time 
nearly one-fourth of the male members were in straightened 
circumstances. A vote was passed Nov. 2^), 1S19, authorizing 
the Deacons to draw on the treasurer for the relief and comfort 
of the indigent members of the church. There are no means 
of ascertaining the amounts yearly contributed for this purpose, 
l)ut dui-ing the past thirty or forty years they have averaged 
about s;')(i(>. In this c(iiiiiccti<m it may be of interest to know 
the names of those who have held the oftice of treasurer since 
ISIS. The following is a correct list : John C Williams, 
Ilein-y C Brown, Phinehas Allen, Samuel Allen, Charles D. 
Mills, Zeno Eussell, Charles .Vtwater and F. W. Dutton. 

The dissensions occasioned by the dilferences in the political 
views of its members, dni-ing tlii' latter years of the last and 
the earlier years ot' the present century, mnjonbtedh' greatly 



GO 

retarded christian efforts, and caused a serious falling off in the 
charities of this, as well as other churches. Divisive measures 
crept into the church, which so agitated and divided its mem- 
bers, that all worthy objects were apparently lost sight of for a 
time. Harmony finally prevailed again, and the work of the 
lledeemer's Kingdom was carried on with renewed zeal. 

It was not until after the organization of the great Mission- 
ary societies that the church entered upon systematic giving, 
although calls for various charitable efforts were not unknown 
before that period. 

The American Board and the American Home Missionary 
Society have in about equal proportions been the recipients of 
our largest benefactions. It will be somewhat sui-prising to 
many to learn tliat it was not until about 185(» that regular con- 
tril)utions were made to the last named society. From the date 
of its organization, however, individual meml)ers contributed 
generously, about $2,000 having been thus given prior to 1850. 
During this period frecpient contril)utions were made to the 
lierkshire and Columbia Missionary Society, of which mention 
has been made, aiding in this way the cause of Home Missions. 
During the period between 1850 and 1874:, om* total contribu- 
tions to the American Home Missionary Society amounted to 
$5,123, and during the same time a much larger sum was con- 
tributed to the American Board. 

In addition to our " Seven Societies," this church contributed 
annually to the American Seamen's Friend Society, the Ameri- 
can Tract Society, the Bible Soctety, the McCall Mission, and 
our local institutions, the House of Mercy and the Union for 
Home Work, besides responding generously to many miscella- 
neous calls. Special disasters, like the Chicago and Boston 
fires, yellow fever epidemics, &g., have always appealed to the 
deepest and most generous sympathies of the church. 

Dr. Todd says in his historical sermon, preached February, 
1873, that the total charities during his pastorate of over thirty 
years, wei-e not less than $200,000. From 1874 to the present 
time, a period (»f fifteen years, the total charities have been 
$89,029.17, an average of about $r).3(;o a year. 



fil 

The present ;ii:;eiieies for e;in'viiiu' torwai'd tlie heiievoleiiee nf 
the cliiircli are numerous. Aiiienii' the oldest and most effect- 
ive, are the J^adies' *' Free-will Society" and the Ladies' " J>e- 
nev^oleiit Society," hoth of which were orj^anized during the 
earlier years of I )r. Iimiiiilirev''s pastorate. It is an interesting 
fact, and one worth relating, that the Free-will Society was the 
outcome of a ladies' prayer-meeting, organized in 1 '^15, under 
the pastorate of Hev. Wm, Allen, by Mrs. Lemtu'l Poineroy, 
Mrs. Thomas Strong, Mrs. Timothy Childs, Mrs. Tliomas Gold, 
Mrs. Simeon Learned, Miss Harriet Danforth and Mrs. C. T. 
P^'enn. During tlie following four or five years, the number 
had largely increased, and the proposition was made — i>rol)ably 
the outgrowth of much faithful prayer on the jmrt of these 
saintly women — that something should be done for the benefit 
of others. This resulted in the organization of the FVee-will 
Society, August — , lsi;>. This Society held its meetings for 
the first three months in the old lecture-room, which stood on 
the present site of the South Church, and afterwards at the 
houses of its members. The first work done was for students 
in Williams College, who were intending to enter the ministry. 
It is an interesting reminiscence, that one of the oldest living 
members of this church w'as at that time a student at Williams, 
and remembers distinctly the arrival of the first donation. 

From a report made at the annual meeting of the church in 
1S73, we learn that the total amount contributed by the Free- 
will Society, from the date of its organization in lS:>t) to 1S78, 
was $8,<)r)4. The actual amount was prol)al>lv much larger, as 
no record covering several years of its earlier liistoi-y can be 
found. The amount contributed from 1S7H to 1SS8 inclusive 
— a ])erio(l of fifteen years — was $9,(»Tl*.i>r), making the grand 
total as shown by the records of the Society, $17,1>48.1)5. 

The Ladies' Benevolent Society has also worked largely in 
the cause of Home missions, and has not fallen behind its sister 
organization, in helping to bear the burden of those who labor 
so faithfully in our frontier settlements. From an old record- 
book of this Society, begijming with the date of its oiganization 
in Isls. and extending through a [)erio<l of over thii'ty years, 
we learn that the total donations during that time anionnted to 



02 

$3,596. For several years subsequent to 1850, no record was 
kept, but tlie books show, notwithstanding these omissions, that 
from 1850 np to the present time, $6,1:16.<)6 has been contrib- 
uted, whicli, together with the amount previously stated, show 
a total of $10,012.06. 

Other societies within the church, of more recent date, are 
the " Ilaclie-no-so Society," " Coral Workers," " Memorial So- 
ciety," and the " Young Men's Working League," all occupying 
fields of usefulness in their several splieres of action. 

What more can be said? That this Church of Christ has a 
"name to live" by reason of its efforts toward the building up 
of the Redeemer's Kingdom in the world, is apparent. Its 
light, we trust, has not grown dim, nor the luster of its ancient 
history dejiarted ; the golden candlestick has not been removed 
out of its place. May the Lord of all grace grant tliat we may 
profit by the faithfulness of our fathers, and be warned by 
their errors. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 



BY W. G. HARDING. 



Altliougli all eaHy i-ccoriLs arc lost, tlioru is little doubt as to 
tlio (late of the organization of the Sunday 8ch(»ol of the Fiivt 
Church in Pitt>tield. Previous to 1S80 it was not controUed 
directly hy tlie church. l»ut l)y a sej)arate oi'ganization known as 
" The i*ittstiehl Sahhath Sciiool Association." Most of the rec- 
ords of this organization are lost. The P Ittsfirld Sun of Xo- 
vendter 15, 1S2(», liowever, seems to fix the date, as it contains 
an article evidently written hy the Pastor, Rev. llenian Jluni- 
phrey, which tlirows back the organization four years, to iJiKI, 
the year before Mr. Humphrey's settlement. Tlie first Super- 
intendent was Dr. James Warren. After alhiding to thi> new 
institution, which was being inti'oduced thi-ougliOut the land, 
the Sun says, "This is the fourth season of the Sabbath School 
in this town, and in view of the exertions wdiich have been 
made and the great success which has attended them, all wlio 
wish well to the rising generatiitii, who seek the welfare of 
society, or who pi-ay for the prosperity of Zion, have al)undant 
cause to thank (rod and take courage. It is a pleasant pai't of 
our duty to give a short abstract t)f the doings of the school. 
Tlie whoU' number of vei'ses of thi' Bible committed to mem- 
ory is o3,25l>, verses of hymns S,(;2S, and of answers in cate- 
chism 12,T2n, making together 5r).7<><i, which, sup])osing the 
numbei" of scholars to be 17(». give> an average to each of 32!>. 
The greatest nundtt'i- committed by any oui' of the pu|>ils is 
0,317; next gre;ite>t, i?.<;s;!. 

Our honored townsman. Deacon Jamo II. Dunham. wa> 
Su]ici-intrii(|('iir of the school for fourteen yeais. from lS3tI to 



64 

1850, the longest term of service of any one Superintendent, 
and to liini I am inde1)ted for most of the I'eminiscences here 
presented. James Dunham came here in 1819, aged 15 years, 
and immediately joined the school. As reported in the article 
in the Sun, lie says the instruction consisted chiefly in memo, 
rizing the Scriptures. A prize was offered to the pupil who 
could recite the most Scripture, and a ticket was given each 
Sunday to the scholar who was the victor. James went into 
the class taught by Miss Betsey Campbell, and astonished the 
rest of the boys by reeling off forty -seven verses tlie first Sun- 
day. They said it was not fair, as he was older than tlie rest, 
and so he was turned over to Miss Olive Pomeroy ; but he was 
too much for Miss Pomeroy's boys, and was sent into Miss 
Mary Childs' class, wliich had two of the minister's boys in it, 
who were su})posed to be a match for him. These were Edward 
and James Humphrey ; l)ut, alas, the first Sunday James Dun- 
ham captured the prize, upon wliicli Edward burst out crying, 
and Mary Childs, who was young and giddy and could not let 
justice master her sympathy, appealed t<j James to give up the 
ticket to Edward. He did it, but left the school and never en- 
tered its doors again till 1828, nine years later, when Edward 
A. Kewton was Superintendent. In the meantime, Calvin 
Martin succeeded Dr. Warren. For how long a time is not 
known, but there is a record of Mr. Newton's taking the super- 
intendency in 1828. He was a man of very independent spirit^ 
and the new minister, Mr. Tappan, thought the Sunday Sclujol 
was too independent of the church, and on wishing to reform 
matters in this res})ect, came in conflict with the Supei'inten- 
dent. Mr. Newton insisted on tlie independence of the Sunday 
School, and resented what he thought was an interference u[)on 
the part of the minister. The matter was referred to a vote of 
the teachers, who sustained Mr. Tappan. This offended Mr. 
Newton, who resigned the superintendency, and commenced 
active measures for the formation of St. Stephen's Church. 

The flrst Sunday School occupied the upper room in tlie 
Town hall, which stood on the ])resent site of St. Stephen's 
Church, and is now the house of Mr. Win. G. Harding on East 
Street, having been moved there in 1832, when St. Stephen's 



65 

Clnireli was Iniilt. Wlicii tlio Federal Icctiin! nxtiii was Iniilt 
on Sontli Street, tlie Scliool lield its sessions there. In IMay, 
182/], following the revival of Nettleton, a bihle-class of over 
one liundred members was established. The roll of these mem- 
bers is preserved, and includes the most prominent people of 
the town. The fourth Superintendent was Mr. John Dilling- 
ham, who was said to be a very wide-awake man. In 1830, 
finding that the usual fourth of July celebration was not to be 
held in the church, he determined to have a Sunday Scliool 
celel)ration there. This aroused the patriot democracy, who, 
uiuler the leadei'ship of one Yale Clark, declared that it wonld 
be a disgraceful shame to desecrate the sacred day in this man- 
ner, and demanded the church for an ojiposition celebration. 
Great excitement ensued, and the matter was finally compro- 
nn'sed by letting the Sunday School have the church until 12 
o'clock, noon. The I)a})tists and Methodists united in this cel- 
ebration. A procession of the School was formed in front of 
the lecture-room on South Street, marched to the J3aptist and 
Methodist churches, where their schools swelled the j)rocession, 
and it entered the church seven hundred strong. The chief 
feature of the exercises, was the singing of the infant class un- 
der the lead of their teacher, Miss Nancy Ingersoll. They were 
seated on a raised platform built for the occasion. So impres- 
sive was their performance, with right hands uplifted, of the 
anthem, " Glory to (irod in the highest," that strong men wept, 
and Yale Clark himself, who had pressed in by the door, could 
not control his tears. After the church exercises the Sunday 
School teachers and scholars had a [)ic-nic dinner in the park, 
and Yale Clark's j)atriots for an hour fired their cannon in front 
of the Berkshire Hotel. 

Mr. Dillingham was followed by l\[r. Thomas Moscly, who 
is described as a fine example of a christian gentleman, with a 
great deal of |>ersonal magnetism, lie was succeeded l»y ^fajor 
Ilciiry C. I>rown, the high Sheriff, a very dignified and modest 
man. He is described as wearing two pairs of spectacles, and 
the glance of his eye was a terror to the boys. He rarely s])oke 
to a bov. but his eve was siitlicirnt tn snltduc the most nm-nlv. 



66 

We have now come down to 1836, when Deacon James II. 
Dunham took charge of the school, and continued Superinten- 
dent for fourteen years till 1850, when he assumed the same 
office in the Sunday School of the new South Street Churcli, 
where he served several years. He is with us to-day, and needs 
no words of mine to describe his eminent Christian life and 
character. lie was followed in 1851 by one whom many of us 
remember with deep affection, — Deacon Henry G. Davis. 
After three years service he was succeeded by Gains C. Bur- 
nap, who had charge of the school from 1853 to 1855, when 
Deacon Davis again was chosen Superintendent, and held the 
position for two years, till 185Y. Eev. Samuel Allen filled the 
office for one year, and was succeeded by Ilol)ert W. Adam, who 
w^as Superintendent for two years, till 1860, when Deacon 
Henry Chickering held the office for five years, till 1865. He 
was a faithful and earnest Superintendent, as many of us well 
remember. He was succeeded by Deacon George N. Dutton, 
who continued in charge for three years till 1868, when Moses 
H. Wood held the office for two years, till 1870. Jabez L. 
Peck was Superintendent for three years, till 18Y3, when Mr. 
Wood again took the office for three years, and was succeeded 
by W. G. Harding, who served three years, and w^as succeeded 
in 18Y9 by Henry W. D wight for one year. George N". Dut- 
ton then served a second term of one year, and was followed 
by Jabez L. Peck for another term of two years. He was 
succeeded in 1883 by Frederick T. West, who continued in 
service for three years, when Henry A. Brewster, the assistant 
Superintendent, acted for one year as Superintendent. 

This l)rings us down to our present Superintendent, Mr. 
Edward T. Slocum, who, commencing January 1st, 1887, is 
now serving his third year. Under his management the school 
has continually grown in numbers, and is now probably larger 
than ever before. There has just been introduced a system of 
gTadation into Primary, Intermediate and Senior departments, 
which bids fair to be a very successful innovati(in. With this 
year the new and excellent catechism under the joint authorship 
of Mrs. Anna Todd Paddock and Mrs. Harriet Palmer Slocum, 
has been introduced. This reminds us of the first year of the 



67 

school of wliicli wc liave any rceorfl, vvlieii 12,720 answers in the 
catecliisni were recited, and tlie teacliers of to-day will have to 
look well to their lanrels if tlieir pupils surpass this. We are 
lucliui'd to doultt if tlu' year ISSD will LMpial 182<» as a cate- 
chisin year. 

Time will not allow the mention of a multitude of faithful 
teachers, secretaries and librarians M'ho have served this school, 
Init thei'c are three librarians whose services were so loiiir and 
so faithfully rendered, that a special vote of thanks were ren- 
(Ici'i'd them upon their retirement in 1877. Mr. Gilbert West, 
J\Ir. John 11. Warriner, and Mr. William li. Pluid<ett. Among 
the first teachers of the school we find Mrs. Susaima Crofoot 
and Miss Brattle, afterwards Mrs. Burbank, of Hartford. Mrs. 
Crofoot united with the church in 1792, was a j^rofessing chris- 
tian seventy-one years, took a deep interest in the Sunday 
School, and used to hold at her home a Saturday afternoon class 
for the ignorant and poor. IMiss Brattle, in her devotion to her 
class, used often to walk to Sunday School, two and a half miles 
from her home in the east ])art. 



PAPER BY CHARLES E. AVEST. LL D, 

OF BROOKLYN, N. Y. 



^^"li\l thift eljureb is associated mj earliest knowledge of re- 
ligiouB worship. It was here I became familiar with the names 
of Allen, Humjihrey. Bailey, Tappan, Youmans, Brinsmade, 
Todd, Bartlett, and Jenkins. 

All these clergymen I have heard preach except the elder 
Allen, the first past^jr, who died February 11, 1810. He was 
one of the master spirits of the American Revolution. He 
waK a fearless and uncompromising rebel against British tyr- 
anny. He hated England, her aristocracy, her church polity, 
and her spirit of domination, — her brag and bluster about the 
divine right of kings. He took an active part in the work. 
He thundered from his pulpit. His church became the arena 
for the discussion of the great ]>rincij)]es of constitutional lib- 
erty. He not only preached rel>ellion, he took up arms and 
went to the war. He was called the "fighting parson." Twice 
he went out as a volunteer chaplain, first at White Plains, and 
afterward at Ticonderoga. For his brave patriotic conduct at 
the battle of Bennington, he won the admiration of his con- 
temjioraries. As trophies he took home two large square crys- 
tal bottles of wine, which he took from the saddle of a Hessian 
suj-geon's horse. He was absent but three days, returning on 
Saturday and preaching to his peoj)le on Tuesday, 

There was another side to his character. He wa« gentle and 
8ymj>athetic. He could weej) with those who wept, and re- 
joice with those who rejoiced. He was eminently social. On 
funeral occasions no one sur])as8ed him in tenderness of ap])cal 
and outpouring sympathy for the afiiicted. As striking exam- 
ples, I would cite his puljlished sermons on the death of his 
daughter, Elizabeth White, in 1798, and of his son, Tliomas 
Allen, Jr„ in 1806. 



69 

Parson Allen's lust days were clouded and unliappy. A 
cruel divisiou of tlie parish resulted in the oi'^anization of an- 
other church, which impoverished the peo])le ; hut after a few 
years of strife they were reunited, and Dr. lleman Humphrey 
was called to he tlieir pastor. By his wisdom their auimosities 
were allayed, and they became one in sympathy and action. 
The memory of Dr. llnmiDhrey is precious. 

There were many notable characters in the church an<l con- 
gregation. I have not time to name them. But I cannot pass 
a most remarkable man, who made a lasting impression u2)on 
my youthful imagination, — if not njwn my back. lie carried a 
birch switch, and kept order among the boys in the gallery. 
He had a sly way of gliding from place to place, and, when 
least expected by those who were not listening to the voice of 
the ])reacher, that switch of the Deacon's would come close 
upon the shoulders of the offending boy with a whack that was 
not very musical to mischief-makers. There was not a boy in 
Bittsfield that did not know and fear Deacon Charles Goodrich. 

One of the most venerated mend)ers of the congregation was 
Hon. Joshua Danforth, who died danuary 30, 1837, in the 
seventy-eighth year of his age. He rendered distinguished 
service in the Revolutionary war. His first active service was 
at Roxbnry, Mass., in June, 1775. In ]\[arcli of the next year 
he went with the army under Washington into Boston, after 
the British had left that town. It was there, in July, he heard 
the Declaration of Independence read to the army for the iirst 
time, lie was at the surrender of Burgoyne in 1777. lie 
went with his brigade to New Jersey and \^alley Forge, some 
twenty miles from Philadelphia, and spent the winter there. 
lie was in the battle of Monmouth in 1778, and in 178U spent 
most of the year at AY est Point. The next year he had command 
of a post near Tai)pan's Bay, and was engaged in several skir- 
mishes with the enemy. After the disbanding of the ai-my in 
1783, he remained in the service as [)aymaster, and was dis- 
charged the following year, taking up his residence in Pittsfield. 
In I7s7 he was aid-de-eam[) to j\Ia]V)r (-reni-ral Patterson, and 
a .Justice of the Peace, receiving his connnission fi-om Jolm 
Hancock. 



70 

Col. Danfortli M-as tlie first Postmaster of Pittsfield, ap- 
pointed in 1794. He held successively the offices of Town 
Clerk, Treasurer, Selectman, and Assessor. In 1787 he was 
appointed Associate Justice of the Berkshire County Court of 
Sessions, and in 18()8 Chief Justice of the Court. He was also 
appointed by Mr. Madison United States Marshal, and prin- 
cipal Assessor and Collector of the revenue for this 18th dis- 
trict in Massachusetts. In 1827-8 he was a member of the 
Governor's Council. 

Of the Pittsfield pastors, I was best acquainted with Drs. 
Tappan and Todd. During my residence in New York I saw 
much of Dr. Tappan. He was one of the most profound 
thinkers and Avriters of his generation. At one time the press 
teemed with publications from his pen. Among these are a 
" Keview of Edwards,'' " Incpiiry into the Freedom of the 
AVill," " The Doctrine of the Will applied to Moral Agency 
and Kesponsibility," (1841) "Elements of Logic," (1844), and 
a "Treatise on University Education," (1857). 

He virtually planned the course of study in the University 
of Michigan, and was practically its first Chancellor. I think 
it the most perfect of all the State systems of puljlic instruc- 
tion. The Connnon Schools, the Academies, and the University, 
are under one Board of Regents, which is not true of one of 
the New England systems of Education. He entered upon 
his duties as Chancellor in 1850, and resigned in 1863, and took 
up his residence in Europe for the remainder of his life. 

Dr. Tappan was born in Rhinebeck-on-the-Hudson, April 
23, 1805, graduated from Union College in 1825, pursued his 
theological studies at Auburn, graduating at the end of two 
years, and in 1827 became assistant to Rev. Dr. Yan Yechten 
of Schenectady, and the next year was settled as the pastor of 
the church in Pittsfield. 

In 1854, Dr. Tappan received the degree of LL. D. from 
Columbia College. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon 
him by his Alma Mater. In 1850 he was elected a correspond- 
ing member of the Imperial Institute of France. 

The last letter I received from him was dated Basle, Febru- 
ary 17, 1870. He died at Yesey, Switzerland, Nov. 15, 1881. 



71 

Of Di-. T(»<1(1, wlio was so ivcently identified witli all the 
public interests of tliis town, I hardly need speak. His fame 
went out into all the world. He was known and read of all 
men. His prayers were a benediction. To his memoi'v how 
familiar were the Songs of David. The old })oet\s harp fell to 
him as an inhei-itance. And then, how true and sincere were 
his friendships. AVIiat a towei" of strength is such a cliaracter ! 
How exalted and divine is such a life ! 

Of the eleven pastors of the church, five became college 
presidents, William Allen, and Drs. Humphrey, Bailey, Tappan 
and Youmans : a great honor ; I know of no .similar example. 

The longest pastorate was Thomas Allen's, 48 years ; the 
shortest, John W. Youmans, two years. Dr. Todd's was thirty. 

The early days of the century were very pi-imitive. In 
winter we suffered for want of fire in church. The elderly 
women had their foot-stoves ; the others sat and shivered, the 
snow not even melting off their shoes during service. The 
main supply of heat was furnished by Calvim'sm, and that was 
abundant. 

There was no organ or flute. Thomas Hastings, a funny- 
looking man with white hair and pink eyes, came and gave 
singing lessons. At the close he gave a concei't. 

The west part of the town was occupied l)y the Baptists and 
JVlethodists. My father's family, I l)elieve, was the oidy excep- 
tion. The next toward the village was Stephen Fowler's, who 
was a blunt old man of very few words. He would Iia\e his 
own way. His favorite ex[)ressions were, '* I will, I will; I 
won't, 1 won't." He lived in the red house <»n F(»wler's hill. 
Next was (V>1. Janes, then Joseph Merricks, the Merriman's, 
and on Childs' hill Dr. Timothy Childs, whose farming wius 
done by his patients. Father and I paid our doctor's bill by 
cutting his wheat. This was done with a sickle. All the 
farmers turned out to help, or it would have taken all summer. 

Smith's exhaustive history of Pittsfiehl leaves little f(»r the 
gleaner; a few straws now and then. 

()riginally the town was the churdi and rlic church the town. 
]\[uiMcipal and ecclesiastical elements had a wi>inlerfidly ela.stie 
way of blending. Evei'y man in the t(»wn ha<l to |)ay a t^ix 



73 

tweiity-foiirtli year, lie fell a victiiu to flic yellow fever. An 
interestiii": memoir of tins I'cmarknhlc man. 1)V Kev. Jl. \i. 
(-rurley, was published in 1814. 

His townsman and contemporary, Itev. J. N. Danfortli. 
writes, "Larned o-rew u\) a healtliy l)oy. At tliirteen years of 
a<J^e lie delivered an oration in the town hall at l*ittsticld, on 
the l^'oiirth of July, wliicli drew foi'th the j»laudits of wise and 
thouiiiitful hearts." At the age of eighteen, while he was 
teaching school to eke out his scanty funds, his townsmen, 
proud of his genius, summoned him to deliver an oration on 
the Fourth of -Tuly. An immense assembly filled the large 
church at Pittsfield. If an orator was ever to be embarrassed, 
that was the time and place for such a stripling as he — sur- 
rounded by those who knew him in his childhood. But he rose 
to the full height of the occasion, developing that unflinching 
confidence in his own powers, which never forsook him. l*eal 
after peal of thundering elocpience seemed to shake the walls 
of the old chui'ch, while the fascinated, astonished audience, 
wild with excitement, greeted him with equal and answering 
measures of applause. He scattered no gaudy flowers of rhet- 
oric, but maintained a high and noble strain of vigorous 
thought and patriotic sentiment. I oaimof say how much the 
faultless symmetry of his person, the extraordinary music of 
his voice, and the energy of his action contribute<l to the effect 
of the sentiment, but there was a fine pro})ortion in them all. 

I would say that the letter referred to was given with other 
family letters and some furnitui'e to my mother on the death 
of old Mrs. Lamed, in whose family my nujther lived in the 
early part of the century. The follt)wing is a copy of Col. 
Larned's letter : 

Cantonmknt. (tukentush. 22 Sept., 1S1;J. 
Dear Sylvester : — 

I received your line l)y iMr. Kirhy. iiiui tind Vdii scciii In li;ivc made your 
clcclion to pursue the study of Divinity ; and it would seem tin ic is a heller 
kind of Divinity in the Jerseys Ihiin in Massacliusetls. 1 ivin really uiiaMe to 
contradict an opinion (^f tliat kind, bul had never any ich'a of it Ijcfore, unless 
it should he valued like any other article ])V the expense it costs to ohtain it. 
I have iid'orined you, and now repeat it, I should never undertake to control 
you in the choice of a profession ; l)ul think I said as much as this, that either 
Law or Divinity, with a hare passjiltlc reputation, would pro])al)ly alTurd you 



a very limited subsistence. The former places you u\Mm fuir grounds as a 
candidate for political life ; the latter, leaves you no alternative without a re- 
nunciation of your profession, and risk of hard sufferings to your prejudice. 
It will be well, as you are young and your mind still tender, thoroughly to 
examine all the consequences you may probably encounter through life. I 
have ever been in (he habit of viewing the clergy and the religion they pro- 
fess. The conduct of the greater j^art of the clergy in the County of Berk- 
shire (whom I had been in the habit of considering as pure as any other) oc- 
casions a very great doubt as to their purity. I cannot be too sure, but 
when I see them overturning the church of Christ, without a single text in the 
Bible to support them, I cannot — I think I ought not — look to them as 
guides to Heaven. The law as practised at this day is degenerated into a 
mean, contemptible, swindling employment, by those especially who are mere 
collectors or fomeuters of little unnecessary suits, which comprehends a large 
proportion who are christened lawyers in the County, and even the State. 
You mention in your letter a wish to see me. I shoidd be very happy to see 
you, but dare not make any appointment luitil some troops, say 1,500 or 
2,000, whi(-h I daily and hourly expect, shall have passed this Cantonment 
on their way to the lines ; when I shall cheerfidly see you at almost any 
place ; perhaps you might ride out here if you have a horse at leisure. I 
will pay your expenses. I .shall only ol)serve that your happiness is my ob 
ject, and the greatest satisfaction this life can afford me is to see my childi'cn 
both comfortable in their circumstances and respectable in society. 
My love to all. 

Your affectionate father, 

S. L.VRNED. 

The letter speaks for itself. Col. Larned did not care to in- 
terfere witli his son in the choice of a profession. Pie had 
witnessed the convulsion which had split into party divisions 
the Pittslield chnrch, where he and his family worshipped. It 
was a time of great controversial excitement in the discnssion 
of religions dogtnas. Calvinists and Armenians met face to 
face, and engaged in bitter warfare. There was no middle 
ground for the churches to occupy. Jonathan Edwards had 
been driven out of Northampton, had taken a mission church 
among the Indians at Stockliridge, had written his treatise on 
the Human Will. Stephen West succeeded Edwards, and wrote 
his Essay on Moral Agency. John Francis, Valentine Rath- 
bone, Elder Leland, and the Baptists, were gaining proselytes. 
Lorenzo Dow and the Methodists were struggling with the 
Baptists. The Congregationalists, old line and new, were pull- 
ing each other's ears. It is no wonder Col. Larned took a 
gldomy view of matters. Dr. Llinnphrey had not as yet come 



75 

to heal divisions. The great revival niKler the preaching of 
Dr. Nettk'toii liad nut occurred. The poHtical workl was in a 
great ferment. Out of the frenzy and hitterness of party 
strife, had grown tlie FederaH.st and Hartford Conventions. If 
anvthing was up, Parson Allen could not he still, lie heeanie 
a partisan of Jefferson and Democracy. His church was in a 
hlaze of excitement, and spht into two factions, Democrats and 
Federalists. It was not strange that men of calm and thought- 
ful natures, like Col. Larned, should take exception to the in- 
flammahle zeal of the clei-gy in politics. 

In closing this superficial review of one of the grandest of 
the New England churches, let us rejoice that it has heen our 
privilege to enter its sacred inclosure and listen to the oracles 
of Heavenly wisdom ; that here many whom we have known 
and loved have heen trained for tlie higher life; that here God 
has manifested His saving power and magnified His name ; 
and that here, more than anywhere else, has He endeared Him- 
self to this people. 



REV. .lOUN WILLIAMS YEOMAN& 

The folic. wing, concerning the sixth minister of the First 
Ciiiiivh of Christ in rittsfield, is from a paper prepared hy his 
son, liev. Alfred Yeomans, Pastor of a Preshyterian Cluirch in 
Orange, New Jersey. Mr. Yeomans died soon after i)reparing 

the paper. 

John Williams Yeomans was horn in Hinsdale, Perkshire 
County, Mass., January, 1S()(I. He was in hoyhood api)ren- 
ticed to a hlacksmith of that place. Put having a strong de- 
sire for an education, hefore tlie term of his ai.pri'uticeshiphad 
expired he purchased from his master the halance of his time, 
and devoted himself to study. In a year and a half spent in 
All.iiuv. snpi)orting himself meanwhile liy teaching, he was 
preiKired for and entered the .Imiior class in Willi:ims (\.llege. 
where he graduated in 1824, with the sec<.nd li..n(.r of hi^ela^s. 



7^^ 

Mark Hoj^kiiis taking- the lirt^t. He iinislied his professional 
studies at Andover iu 1S27. The same j^ear he organized the 
First Congregational Church in North Adams, and collected 
the money for the first church edifice. While in North Adams 
lie was married to Laititia Snyder of All)any. Two sons were 
born in North Adams, where he remained three years. 

In 1831 he was called to Pittsfield, where he remained a 
little more tlian two years. His third son, George, was born 
here. 

In June, IS;^!, he liecame Pastor of the First Pres])yterian 
Church in Trenton, New Jersey, and continued through life a 
Presljyterian con arnore. 

His ])ast()rate of seven years in Trent(jn was most successful. 
Two daughters were born while residing there. 

In 1841, accepting the presidency of Lafayette College, he 
removed to Easton, Pennsylvania. 

In 1842, Princeton College, Williams College, and Marvin 
University, Ohio, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity. 

In 1845, he left Lafayette College and became Pastor of the 
Wahoming Church in Danville, Penn., where he spent the re- 
maindei' of his days, about nineteen years in all. He died 
June 22, 1S<)3, in the sixty -third year of his age. 

Besides filling various public positions, Mr. Yeomans was 
conspicuous in the councils of the Presbyterian Church, and a 
well known and prolific author. His work indicates varied 
and generous ability. 



PARSON ALLI^:N\S SIIOIITIIANI). 



BY HARLAN H. BALLARD. 



Re\'. Tlioiiia^ Allen, tiist pastdi- of tlii> cliurcli. was or- 
dained A[)ril is, 1764. Two days l)ufoiv that, on the HJtli of 
April, ]io preachcil here a sermon from the text, ''Theivfore 
we conclude that a man is justified ])y faith without the deeds 
of the law." It was a viiii;orous sermon, full of Pauline theol- 
ogy, and evidenced Mr. Allen's strong- and decided mind : Itut 
that wliich just now interests ns most in this sermon, ])reache(| 
two days l)efoiv his ordination, is the fact that it is written in 
a ])eculiar comhination of shorthaiul and cijthei-, and until a 
few days ago, had remained unread and umvadahle for one 
hundred and twenty-five years. Nearly all, if not all, of Mi-. 
Allen's mannscri})ts are in this same stenography, and the kev 
to the translation of this sermon, which it has just heen mv 
good fortune to disc(>ver, fits them all. 

Little of local interest in the way of historical oi' hio^-i-aphi- 
cal recoivl has hei'ii found in the thi-ee oi- four |)a[)ers wliich 
have thus far heen examined, and it i> of course only a matter 
of conjecture whether anything other than an elahoration of 
last century's theology will he fouiul hereafter; yet the facts 
that Afr. Allen wrote his sermon> in a rapid, ])nictical short- 
hand, and that there is i-e\-ea!e(l in the few alreailv I'ead a 
terse, masculine energv of thought, power of convicti(^»n, and, 
withal, tenderness of heart, have seemed to warrant a few words 
at this time regarding the style of steiiogi-aphy emploNcd l»v 
him, and a vvvy hrief account of the methiHl hy which it has 
heen ])artially deciphcrcil. 

The >ei'mon upi»n which ourwork was hegun, was tlii> one 
in my hand, preached, according to a note in the corner, March 
■i, 1S<>4, on the death of Mr. Simeon Crowfoot. The hope of 



78 

iindin^^ in it some personal recollections of Mr. Crowfoot, 
induced us to attempt the translation. The accompanying 
illustration (Fig. 1) is a fac-simile of the opening lines of his 
funeral sermon. 



^• 



\l. 



There is nothing in it from beginning to end which has a less 
puzzling or more practicable appearance ; indeed these lines are 
the most favoral)le of all for study, because, as the writer pro- 
gressed with his discourse, and as his mind grew exalted and 
his heart grew warm, his hand increased its swiftness, and his 
hieroglyphics redoubled their intricacy. It at once seemed 
probable that within these lines was concealed a text ; and a 
text, moreover, adapted for a funeral sermon. But a careful 
inspection of the cipher served rather to prove its excellence 
than to comfort its would-])e translator. Is it " 1," the first 
book, Genesis; " 11," the eleventh chapter; " 7," the seventh 
verse ; and then, " 19," the 19th chapter, and " 2," the second 
verse';! We leap at the chance, and oi>en our Bible to see 
whether those verses are appropriate for a funeral discourse. 
The former reads " Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and 
there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one 
another's speech." This hits the case to a nicety, — but not in the 
way we had hoped ! But perhaps the fourth character is not 
a " 7," but a " y," standing in the cipher for some word ; per- 
haps also the last character is not a " 2," although it looks so 
much like one. On this hypothesis we read " Thelllth some- 
thino- and the 19th something else." What can this be but the 
111th Psahn, and the 19th verse '^ Surely no other book than, 
the Psalms has 111 subdivisions. With something akin to ex- 



79 

ultatidii \vi' turn to tlic Illtli Psalm, — and discover tliat it con- 
tains only ten verses. 

J>attled for the moment, we lay aside tins sermon and take np 
another, tlie one first referred to, written forty years earlier. 
Perhaps Mr. Allen may not have been so Unent with hisrjiiaint 
stenojjraphy then: possil)ly lie made his stntkes more slowly, 
and more distinctly. Such is the case. Not only is this earlier 
sermon much more carefully executed, hut here and there is a 
word in ordinai-y script. lie was leaminy the (dpher. The 
words, however, help us little, and suggest no text in which 
they may occur. " .Fudaizing, "allow." '' covet,"' '' hoast," " con- 
sonant,"' '•sei)arate," "union." A glance at the conc(trdance 
shows that either they are not in the Bihle at all, or are there 
so often as to render search useless. But here at the heginning 
is a line set oif, evidently a text, a short text of about sixteen 
words, and the sign for the next to the last word identical with 
the fourth preceding it. Moreovei-, at the left of the brace, 
among the figures, are the same two characters which we be. 
fore thouo-ht mia-ht stand for "Psalms" and "verse." Why 
not " chapter" and " verse" ? If so, a third .chapter, and a 
twenty-eighth verse. 

A patient examination of the third chapter of each book in 
the Bible showed that only some half dozen of them contained 
twenty-eight verses; and the oidy one which seemed at all to 
correspond in length, and in the recurrence of the same word 
near the end, was Romans 8 : 2S, " Therefore we conclude 
that a man is justified by faith witliout the deeds of the law." 
The event proved that this was correct ; aiid it was of some 
advantage to know it. It gave the signs for "therefore," 
" that," "a," " by," "the," and "of," and the signs for •' chap- 
ter" and " verse," and by giving also the character for the letter 
" j," it furnished the clue to the text shown in Fig. 1. which 
was .1. Uch. : 19 v. 

We next turned to a third serm<»n, " On the marriage of my 
daughter Betsey to ^fr. White, in the :21st year of her age." 
Here the false assumption rliat the |)reacher would cIkmisg a 
text from the New TestanuMit for such an occasion, had nearly 
proved fatal to success. 



80 

A 7th ehii])ter and a 14tli verse were evidently called for. 
The only corresponding verse in the New Testament that could 
be used for a wedding sermon, is 1 Cor. 7 : 14, " For the un- 
believing husband is sanctified l)y the believing wife, and tlie 
unl)elieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband." Al- 
though this seemed, perhaps, a trifie personal, and while I sym- 
pathized with Mr. White's probable embarrassment on hearing 
its first clause solenmly pronounced, I yet accepted it as a 
translation of the characters in question, and was for many 
hours plunged into dire confusion. I afterward discovered that 
the real text was taken not from Corinthians, but from Eccle- 
siastics 7 : 14, " In the day of ju-osperity be joyful ; l)ut in the 
day of adversity consider." 

It is useless to trace farther the fascinating, though very de- 
vious path which led to the recovery of the key to this most 
ingenious shorthand. Part of this key I have written here. 
(P'ig. 2.) It will be noticed, that, although used by Mr. Allen 



/- ^ 



"T 



— (M- /'^ = >2. ^*<? 

/ 

, — Kyi-' 



7cQ 



:^. 



nearly sixty years before Pitman invented his more perfect sys- 
tem, it is yet essentially a phonographic system. The lines 



81 

represent sounds ratlicr tluiii letters or words. Like Pitman's, 
too, it relies cliietly n[)<>n the cousoiiiuits, and, when necessary, 
indicates the vowel sounds by dots placed in particular posi- 
tions. I have heard, thoui):;li as a rumor, that Mr. Allen used 
Weston's system of shorthand. 

James Weston lived in l^ondon, and pubHshed his treatise in 
1730. It reappeared in many successive editions until 1749. 
Instructions have been sent to a Boston dealei* to j)rocure, if 
possible, a copy of this ancient " Compleat Stenographer," that, 
toij;ether with Mr. Allen's manuscript, it may be laid away in 
the archives of the Athena'um. 

Oondjined with the stenogra])hy })roi)er in these old sermons, 
is a perplexing use of symbols, possibly invented in part by 
Mr. Allen himself. For example, a circle represents " the 
world," and a straight line drawn across a circle is translated 
" through the world ;" a slanting line, the equivalent of the 
letter "• m," stands with Mr. Allen for " him," and a line across 
it reads, of course, "through him." He also used the custom- 
ary obli(]ue cross for '' ('hrist." and a line through the cross, 
and a dot al)0ve it. means "through Christ Jesus." 

One very touching thing has come to light in this connection, 
and proves, — as does also the sermon on the death of Simeon 
Crowfoot, where the text, (a fac-simile of which is given in Fig. 
1,) was, "And many of the Jews came to Martha and jVIary to 
comfort them concerning their brother," — that Mr. Allen's 
heart was very gentle and loving. When, years later, his 
daughter Betsey died, Mr. Allen preached her funeral sermon, 
and in connection with it (pioted from the same passage which 
he had chosen for her wedding text, wlien she had stood in the 
blush of womanhood at the altar and joined her right hand to 
the hand of Mr. White ; this time, however, emphasizing with 
infinite pathos the latter instead of the former clause : Ecclesias- 
tes 7 : 14, "In the day of adversity consider.'''' 



82 

We append a fac-simile of one page of Mr. Allen's mamiscript, with the translation. 
It IS taken from the sermon first referred to, preaohed in Pittslield two days before his 
ordmation. 



j-u/ 






'^^fc^/';;:r-^'>:ir^. 




'^'7' "^^^^ '^'^J- -^ r/^. >5 



Af-/// 



I 7^^L^<\/i,. f -^ 






83 

Translation. 
" APPLICATION. 

I am iiiial)k' t<» * " state of all such as seek justification by 
the deeds of the law, and are strangers to the grace of God in 
their own hearts. They, like the young man in the (Tosj)el, 
think that they are in very good standing with the law ; and 
they think that the law does not demand perfect obedience, and 
so does not extend to the heart ; or they are ready to contend 
that they are perfect and justified by the law. Amazing stu- 
])idity ! How unac(|uainted are all such with their own hearts, 
who think that they are not debtors to the laws of God, 
but have kept them from their youth. I haste, therefore, in 
faithfulness to my Master for whom I have spoken this day, 
and in the discharge of a sacred account, to urge all such per- 
sons as these (who) think they are not sinners, the law having 
no demands upon them because of their regular life, or who 
think that the law demands not perfect obedience, and extends 
not to the heart * * life ; or who trust that they will be accepted 
of God because of their moral virtues, and who have no such * * 
as this, (otherwise all their " * are unprofitable * *) thoroughly 
to consider upon what foundation they build, where are their 
hopes, and for what is - * this word of the Apostle in the l>th 
of Romans: 'Israel, wliich follow^ed after the law of riirht- 
eousness, hath not attained to the hnv of righteousness? Where- 
fore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by 
the works of the law.' ' For they being ignorant of God's 
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteous- 
ness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.' The 
hope of all such self-nghteons persons will iierish as the green 
hope of the grass. 'They will lean upon their house, but it 
will not stand, they will hold their hope fast, but it will not 
endure.' Cultivate this thought then in your hearts, my dear 
hearers (?), that all things, all your goodness, your moral vir- 
tues, you have but * *; in yourselves, you are entirely unworthv 
of justification, and can claim no right to it on account of anv 
virtue in yourselves, hut only through Christ. 

If you build your hope on this Kock, try your foundation 
and it will not be shaken. When the sun shall be extinct, and 



84 

the stars shall start from their spheres, your hope, your stay, 
remaineth sure. 

If it is as has been said, that we are justified by faith M'ith- 
out the deeds of the law, then where is boasting ? It is excluded. 
The boaster hath nothing to boast of, but cries ' Grace ! Grace ! 
all is free grace, for I had nothing in nie to please God.' " 



FORMER. DAYS. 



BY H. M. P. 



It may not be exactly a recalling of the " glories of the 
former house," but it will be calling to rememl)rance some of 
its peculiaritiies to speak of the bookcase located at the right of 
the high " l)ox-pulpit," filled with suitable " Sunday reading"— 
John "Ward, Preacher and Eobert Elsmere not included — for 
those persons who lived so far away, that once having got to 
church, they remained for both morning and afternoon sessions. 
How the familiar figures rise up to the mind's eye. Mrs. Cro- 
foot, tin foot-stove in hand, Mi-s. Cogswell, Madame Childs, 
Mrs. Dunham, Mrs. Deacon Goodman, Mrs. Chapman '' of the 
west part," and many others. Sermon over, the Sunday School 
assembled in the ordinary pews, for as yet there was no lecture- 
room, and these venerable matrons gathering in the vicinity of 
the pulpit, each took a book, and diligently improved the inter- 
mission. How faithful they were to their ideal of keeping the 
Sabbath holy. 

In the flourishing days of the Young Ladies' Institute, with 
what interest, not to call it by the odious name of curiosity, 
was the advent of the hundred young women (more or less) 
looked for. Does any one see any connection between the fact 
that they occupied the gallery to the left of the preacher, and 
that sittings down stairs, to the preacher's right, were greatly 
coveted by the youths of the period. They (the youths) cer- 
tainly managed to keep within eye-shot of the rosy maidens. 

Nothing shows more clearly the change in ideas, and that 



85 

true advance in what may be called the democracy of Clirist- 
ianity through wliich a great preacher once said " the best 
thinirs are for all in these later times" than tlie different meth- 
ods of seating the ])e()ple now and in the former days, while 
nothing shows how liard it is to annul an idea or custom once 
rooted in the steadfast Anglo-Saxon ])lood, than the persistence 
with wliich the chief "seats in the synagogue" continued to be 
located far uj) the broad aisle, long after we had ceased to care 
for Lords or Dukes or even Escpiires, on this side of the water. 
In those old aristocratic times, a stranger could tell " wlio was 
who," by observing the occupants of those pews, which were 
" owned" and transferred like a piece of real estate. In those 
days it must have been hard for a man to discriiiiinate tlic exact 
point where the worship of- his (iod l)egan, and that of his 
own respectability left off. 

To an ol)SL'rver wlio occupied the "coin of vantage" afforded 
l)y the corner seat among those young women aforesaid, some 
pictures come back very vividly. The venerable Dr. Hum- 
phrey, whose attitude and conduct were the embodiment of 
devoutness, and who listened to the familiar pulpit truths with 
an expression of attention, as alert as if he were hearing the 
" glad tidings of great joy" for the first time, Mr. Calvin Mar- 
tin, always there, Mr. Ezekiel Colt and Mr. Levi Goodrich 
equally faithful, Mr. Lemuel Pomeroy, whose snowy cataract 
of shirt-rutlie and carefully tied (pieue were a welcome and 
picturesque legacy from the fashions of the former century, 
and the more practical fly-combating silk handkerchiefs of Mr. 
Weller and Deacon Goodman deliljerately thrown over the 
bald surfaces so inviting to their tormenters. When Dr. Childs. 
or Deacon Allen, or A[r. Jason Clapp, ov Mr. Solomon Russell 
were al)sent from church, the (pierv was. " What is the matter 

of ^" or "how long has he l)een sick r" for everyl>ody 

knew that nothing l)ut physical disal)i]ity would detain them. 

To a person who had grown uj) under a pastor who would'nt 
have admitted a person to the church till he could have ren- 
dered a reason for the faith that was in him "according not 
only to tlie Gos])el," but also according to Jonatlian Edwards' 
deepest reasonings, it was a wonderful and significant incident 



86 

to see tlie grand-daugliter of the first minister, who, thougli a 
mere child, liad resolved to plant her young feet in the paths 
of righteousness, " united to the church." 

That the leading women of that day loved heautiful things, 
and that they thought nothing too good for the House of the 
Lord, was evidenced by the earnestness and zeal with which 
they toiled for the adornment of the present church when the 
" glories of the former house" had hecomu a thing of the past. 

In t^is day of profuse aesthetic decoration, it is difficult to 
appreciate what an '' advanced' eifort it was to secure the carv- 
ing of the communion table, the cliairs and the sofa by Mrs. 
Jason CJlapp, who knew that among " the men at the shop" 
there was a skilled English carver who could do work that still 
commends itself as " good,"" and which being wrought largely 
from the seasoned oak, without flaw or blemish, that came from 
the beams of the former house, forms a pleasant link between 
that and this. 

More than a generation has passed since we began to gather 
in our present spiritual home, beautified by the offerings of 
many loving hands, notably b}' a worthy descendant of the 
sturdy fighting parson, and although we must own that, consid- 
ered as " glories" pure and simple, those of the latter house are 
far greater than those of the former, it will be long before we 
shall outdo the men and women of the former clay, in unselfish 
devotion to what they l)elieved the true inserests of the First 
Congregational Church. 



OLD USAdES AND rROMINENT P110FE880RS. 



BY C. L. K. 



"Olil i)crriiiiics wanilci- liack fidiii liclds of clovrr, 
Soi'H in (he li.iiiit of suns lliai loni;- have scl, 
OKI voices Ciiil us, Ihroujih thr dusk ii'tuniin^' ; 
And then we tusk witli vain and troubled yearning, 
Wliat is tlie cliarni that makes old thinirs so sweet '! 

Tlic coiuiuittec on the church aiiiiivcrsaiy have called for 
" Old Usages" and " Prominent Professors." Old usages imply 
two things: 1st, being an eje witness; will any woman in 
the First Church of Pittsfield admit that! 2d, historical 
license. Should the facts touched seem a repetition of a 
"former treatise, Oli Theophilus," they will be excused, as we'll 
as not a little unavoidable egotism. In Isaiah, 41st cha])ter. 
we read, " Let them shew the former things what they be. that 
we may consider them.'" A text was necessary one liundred 
and twenty-five years ago ! 

My earliest recollections of the First Clnii-cli of Pittsfield 
are being dressed in a white gown and jockey hat made bv 
the renowned milliner. Miss Abigail Ives, and taken across the 
"green," under the shadow of the big elm, "to meeting;" to 
the spacious scpiare pew, next the pulpit, at the right of the 
broad aisle, (pronounced oil) where sat my grandfather. Captain 
Campbell, and Mr. "William Hollister, — age and respectability 
deciding the location. Mr. Hollister seemed the " father of all 
living;" for thirteen children, when at a proper age, were 
brought to that i)ew. My father's pew at the left of the broad 
aisle near the center, with Mr. James Buel ; next ours the 
Cliilds' pew; old Di-. Timothy and Ilachcl. eminent saints. 
So were all tlu-ir descfiidants. " (^ol." Tom and " Cougressmaii 
Tim," brought their southern brides to that [>ew. and they knt-lt 



so gracefully. This was our first sight of an Episcopalian ; 
exotics then ! Op])osite were the Golds, High Sheriff Brown, 
and tlie Pomeroys. Will not a descripti(tn of the style of dress 
be interesting ? Gentleman's di'ess, a dark blue silk camlet, 
trinnned richly witli lion's skin ; a lady's, black satin pelisse 
with round cape, trimmed heavily with plush ; a large Leghorn 
flat with ostrich-feather trimming ai'ound brim, and lined with 
yellow satin ; ostrich plumes at the side. Beat that if you can, 
1889! The "caste line" was generally drawn by the quality 
of tlie muff and tippet. The church was cold ! 

The Sal)l)ath dawned at sundown on Saturday evening, — the 
first religious rite, a thorough scrubbing of each child — or more 
properly Friday evening, when the ruffled shirts were plaited 
for the Sabbath. All the family sat motionless with a good 
book. I was not allowed any one less serious than " Anna 
E.0SS." Sabbath morning Archeteus Bolton rang the first bell 
at half-past nine, the second at half past ten. Dr. Humphrey 
the minister. Service ended at twelve ; and those from a dis- 
tance, if not asked to tlie house of some friend, ate their dough- 
nuts reverently in church, and a deacon would then call them 
together for a prayer-meeting. At half-past one, afternoon 
service, and at its close the Snnday Sch(»ol. Miss Martha Gold 
was my teacher. We reached our homes at dusk in winter; 
and after a rej)ast, the children were catechised, and often 
chastised. Will a personal illustration be admissal)le i My 
father had come from Kew York, a long and tedious journey, 
in a sloop up the "ISTorth River." He brought his little girl 
a long shell comb, which cost one dollar. The next Sunday I 
didn't catechise to suit him, was arraigned, my cond) boxed to 
splinters, and I said " I am glad of it." After the children's 
drilling, preparation for evening lecture ; though calling, knit- 
ting, and spinning proper for those who preferred exercises less 
spiritual than a sermon. Sunday was a day of activity ; the 
same spirit, methinks, that now reigns in the children of diso- 
bedience ! 

' There was no initial religion and benevolence. No "A. B. 
C. F. M," " S. C. E.," " Y. M. C. A.," " W. C. T. U.," " I. O. 
O. F.," " G. Y. L." ]^o " Knights of Pythias," " Legion of 



89 

Honor,'" "Dau^'littTS of llebckali," '' Uaclie-no-sos," "Crescent 
Lodire,"' "Etliol Division," ''Coral Workers," "Kintr's Dani^li- 
ters.-' " Daisies/' let alone sewiiii;' soeieties and elnbs innnniera- 
Itlc. nltoiit to suhliinate in a ''Congregational," — bnt those 
saints were " oliedii-nt to the hea\i'idy Nision/' aceoi-ding t(» 
their liy-lit. 

All week-day services were held in tlic npiici- i-ooni of the 
Sonth Sti'eet Chnreli; the lower, an aeadeniic, hall. The en- 
trance to the leeture-room was fearful ; for hoys had mutilated 
with i)en-knives, and girls with [)encils, till it was as amusing 
and curious as the [)assages between the two Florence galleries. 
Everything conceivable was done in that lectui-e-room ; con- 
certs, fairs, chemical lectures; and on one Sabbath evening a 
thunder-bolt enti-red the colored pew, passing through the 
room, but doing but little harm. Harry Hoose, the faithful 
servant of INlr. Heni-y (J. Brown, was stunned. Daniel Web- 
ster was ])i-esent there at a fair, and bought pin-cushions and 
made a speech ; Dr. Holmes, too ; and recited a })oeni, "What 
a dollar will buy." IS'ot until a dranuitic show, for the "glori- 
ous cause of temperance." did the tiat go forth from Dr. T(»d(l, 
" No more religious worshi}) here." He carried it out, and a 
small lecture-room was built where stands ours now. The 
Sunday School was transferred from the church to that lecture- 
room in South Street, and the session changed to nine in the 
morinng. Mr. Calvin ]\[ai'tin was supei'intendent, folli>wed by 
the Hon. E. A. Newton; the roll called at opening. 

An(»ther "stone of stund)ling" was our church perverted by 
a ga})ing crowd at Cattle Show. There was the "• oration," ami 
the premiums dispensed. Josiali Quincy came, and he caught 
my youthful attention by reciting "The Trees going foi'th for 
a King." A "Free Mason" entertainment restored the church 
to its legitimate uses. The square pews changed to slips be- 
fore 1880, and the lunad aisle was removed ; two side aisles, with 
the pew occupants in position as before; the center aisle 
closed. There was a space in vestil)ule for two huge stoves, with 
pi[)es (|uite across, undtT the gallei'ies, and terminating in an 
arch before the pulpit. ( )m I'ither side at entrance four pews 
were r(tifie(/,iind thei-e sat ^fr. Samuel Colt's family and ours — 



90 

iimeli too siglitly a place for dcvotionless lininan nature. The 
three center seats were free, and in gallery two square pews 
were retained for the colored peo})le. There sat Ivate Frazer, 
called "the Duchess;" Sallie Iloose, too, who always w^ept du- 
ring the entire service, and reeled to and fro from emotion. 
The singing-gallery over those raging stoves looking at noon, 
when the small boys were filling the foot-stoves, lurid enough 
to carry an Atlantic steamer. In that gallery sat on first row 
the Misses Brattle, Miss Julia (now Mrs. Burbank,) — lovely in 
old age, she visited Pittsfield a few years since — Deacon Good- 
rich's daughters, and others. On the second, Betsey Campbell, 
Aurelia Hollister, Mary Brown, (the village beauty) and Au- 
relia Bissell, a character who was so " mighty" in the Scriptures 
and Hymn Book, that in advanced life she could read chapters 
and hymns with the book upside down or inside out. Opposite, 
the tenor and bass, Mr. James Wari-iner, Mr. Lyman Warri- 
ner, Charles Cold, Dr. Campbell, and led ]»y Col. Warriner, 
with a singing-school led by Thomas Hastings. The music was 
fine ; "Dundee," "Windham," "Mear,"tlie style of the tunes. 
Dr. Humphrey was most judicious; and thougli he poi'trayed 
eternity vividly, 'twas never harsh. At the close of the after- 
noon service, when at its noisiest, John B. Boot would quiet it 
by a marriage bann ; " Marriage is intended between Mr. Win- 
tlirop Campbell and Miss Emma Lyman of Ilichmond." The 
monthly concert, the first Monday of the month; always a 
Wednesday evening lecture; a monthly meeting of church 
members to test progress; and a church fast as often as needed. 
Once a minister was seen carrying a tin pail on such a day, sup- 
posed to contain oysters ! The Friday evening meetings in East 
and South Streets, — two were necessary, as the facilities for 
getting about evenings were meager then, and the meetings at 
the convenience of the lady wdio received them. There was 
the same cry then as " now is and ever shall be ; " — " Speak to 
to the children of Israel that they go forward." One evening, 
entering the lecture-room, eyes dazzled by a yellow curtain 
stretched quite across, taking in the half (»f the room: a poor 
investment; for a good poi-tion were daring enough to sit be- 
hind it, which was worse. 



01 



After the liarvest wus _i;atliere(l, iiiid more rest, the minister 
would say, "'As there is now more time for th(»n<;-ht, let us not 
have occasion to say, 'The liarvest is past, and our souls not 
saved.'" A cttnimittce f(»rmed, and a decision; — that deacons 
and lavnien, two l)_v two, shouhl visit every family; — the time 
and placed announced from tlie })ulpit. They were generally 
well received. I was present at one visitation. It was two o'clock. 
The work was "done up," and the women of the family 
assembled in the best rooniwdth knitthig-work. A deacon and 
hiynuin ai)peared; women breathless. The deacon stepped 
toward <tue of the ladies — a spinster — and iiKpiired for her 
sold '. " Soul '. you liad better incpiire iorm.j/ soul ! I remem- 
ber vour pranks old fellow I Vou need not talk t() me about 
a soul."" 

After the thorough visitation was over, another meeting. 
What next ^ An evangelist, Mr. Nettleton, came with mar- 
vellous results. ( )thers innw time to time, and they were called 
"" New Lights," " New- Measures," — Dr. J>emau, Dr. Kirk, Mr. 
F'inney. There were morning meetings at eight o'clock at the 
medical board ing-lu^use; public service at ten; in(piiry-meet- 
iuii; after, deacons and laymen assisting; service again at two, 
and at evening a prayer-meeting and in(piiry-ineeting at the 
boarding-house, (ioing to our home, the minister would say, 
"Go alone if possible, speak to no one." It was as stringent 
as a ])hysician ])rescril)ing a breathing-tube for weak lungs. 

The Medical College demolished, the prayer and impiiry 
meetings were at the house of the Tastor after. At one such 
meeting, the minister stood at the door to receive us, and as 
one and another came he M'ould ask, '' Saint or sinner T" I 
very modestly, not contidently, replied, '' Samt.'^ "Go in 
parlor, sinners up stairs." He, excited, swayed between those 
above and below; and when with saints said, " I *rogress up- 
f^tuirs — pray I*" The revival seasons were styled "77^ Cloud,'' 
of ureater or less extent; once, extending six nnles: .Foel 
Foster came into town -a colored lay i)reaclier- and .slid. 
"There"s a great awakening in the •gulphi"* 

It's (luite time the good deacons weri' iiitmduciMl — Deacon 
I{i>>rll, Deacon Crofoot, Deacon Icliabod ( 'liapniau. ami l)i;M-.in 



92 

Goodrich, (pronounced Gutrick). They were "i>;rave" — ''not 
given to filthy lucre"" — but, did seem a little '^ dou])le tongued," 
if judged l)y their (piivering, quavering tones, when using strik- 
ing texts for general condemnation. Deacon Bissell — " Curse 
ye Meroz. Curse her l)itterly. Curse ye the inhabitants 
thereof ; because they come not to the help of the Lord. The 
help of the Lord against the mighty.'' Deacon Crofoot — " Lay 
judgment to the line and Righteousness to the plummet. Let 
the hail sweep away your refuge of lies." Deacon Chapman — 
" Oh ye despisers ! Wonder and perish !" Deacon Goodrich, 
illustrative ; speaking of an Eastean rite, lie said, " I suppose 
common kind of Christians can scarcely see how the thing 
could be done," and fell at full length on the floor to show how 
it might be. Those deacons lived and died in strong faith. 
Deacon Crofoot sent this notice to the pulpit : " Deacon Cro- 
foot, contemplating a journey to Albany, asks the prayers of 
God's people, that he may go and return safely.'" 

We would not, if we could, call them back to earth ; '' the 
disobedient first pai-ents " their starting point and theme, 
gone! No data for the introduction of sin! Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob historic myths ! The prophets nearly swept away, 
and no ''Messianic ])rophecies." The whale didn't swallow 
Jonah, although a sea-serpent sixty -five feet long, 'tis said, is 
now in New York. 'Twould give Jonah a parlor and bed- 
room ! 

Those deacons would lift up holy hands and exclaim, '' De- 
liver us from this untoward generation." One specimen of the 
wife of a deacon, Mrs. Crofoot. She was a small, pleasant- 
faced woman, always accompanying her husband with the foot- 
stove. She showed a little vanity after his death in supposing 
every gentleman burthened with serious intentions. She would 
say " Go home ! Get ready for your (/rave, where you are go- 
ing soon, and / too .^" 

The lawyer who ^ executed " for her asked, '' How much 
'sweetnin' do you use a year ?" " Fifty pounds !" " Too nnich ! 
too nmch!" She didn't see "what business a lawyer had 
meddlin' with her sweetnin !" 

These wives lived simjjly, not comfortably'. One wood fire 



93 

in kitchen; supplies fur wlntui' to be hiid in ; a harrel of apple 
^auce; eandles to be dipped: a hanvl of j)ickles; mince pies 
t(i l)e made and put awav in au uiKiccnpieil tloor up cliaiulter, 
and protected from mice; pum[)kin and apples to I)e di"ie<l on 
lines hung across kitchen; a cask of hop-heer for drink and to 
supply "emptins" for bread. Xotwithstanding these incon\'en- 
iences and household duties, they never ''forsook the <jrdinan- 
ccs." A variety of vegetables for dinner the great desideratum. 
Mrs. Crofoot heard a knock at her door in the forenoon. She 
didn't let them " knock and go away," nor could she send word 
^ engaged ;" so with her sleeves turned np and knife in hand, 
she went to the door. "■ Come in ; glad to see you ; I was 
gittin my sass ready for diimer. I have got my long sass done. 
It won't take long to do short sass." " Long sass" — beets and 
])arsnips; "short" — onions and turnips. AVe wouldn't recal 
these wives I Imagine Mrs. Ichabod Chapman at the house of 
a modern deacon. Would she not be dazed with the day's ])ro- 
gramme '. *' IIi)i<h(staiu'(r to her! — at 11 a piazza party ; at 5 
an "afternoon" tea; at ('» a "high" tea, where six plates at least 
wonld 1)0 necessary for each person l)efore the stomach could 
set off on a fresh digesting tour I The deacon engaged later at 
either "drive" whist or "progressive" euchre. Cards, to her, 
the " deadly Upas" under whose shadow no " Professor" could 
live. A " German" the next evening, with a matronly profes- 
sor" as chaperone. She would exclaim, " take me back to my 
long sleep ! Let me lodge among the monuments." 

We should like to introduce Miss Xancy Ingersoll to a mod- 
ern benevolent society, — not to the Young Ladies' Benevolent, 
for she was the founder of it, and it has kejtt its Ingersoll 
flavor. Seventy yeavs ago it sent Cyrus Mason, a fledged min- 
ister, to New York. We will fancy her at a society, which I 
heard described l)y a connoisseur, a few days since : " \ have 
yet to sec a more l>cautiful display of silver, glass, viands, and 
service. The linen and napkins so flue I" Itow much of the 
four hours ailoted to work diil that ^la^■Ilili^•(•nt hiuch consumed 
" lie that sitteth in the heavens" may not *' hiugh." Itut the 
heathen " will have them in dei'ision." 



94 

I'KOMINENT PK()FP:SS0KS. 

Miss Nuiicy Iiii^'orsoll "par excellence,'' one whom Orville 
Dewej would have called a " spiritualized ogre of childhood ;" 
with a strong, determined face, she rushed through these streets 
from shop to shop, into offices, frightening the lawyers, and 
urging every one to ''fall on kneL's and sulunit." 1 shiver 
while writing of her. Miss Lydia Adams, who always followed 
every smile with a tear and a prayer. I was thrown into her 
presence, excited her risibilities, and she told me " how sadly 
it made her feel." One dear old lady said to me, " My child I 
where will you end if you laugh so much f A Sunday School 
Superintendent asked a friend of mine, a teacher, " if she 
couldn't smile less when teaching f Such professors had better 
join a menagerie, whei-e nothing but the hytena would discom- 
fort them ! 

Mrs. Jemima Severance, of a calm, poetic religion ; she 
lived on Washington mountain, and picked l)erries ; and told 
us of the birds, which " sang and llitted about her surrounding- 
scenery." One aid to her poetic nature was extraordinary. 
During a morning service, in the old church, a lovely white 
dove entered ; Jemima sat in the free seat near the door ; the 
dove, after flying through the aisles, passing the Pomeroys and. 
Golds, rested on Jemima's shoulder ; the church and she ex- 
cited ; for, had not the " Spirit like a dove alighted on her." 
She always wore black ; but, when called to mourning, she 
added a large black crape pocket-handkerchief. As she was a 
sanctuary weeper, it was rather disfiguring ! 

Having given a severe and ideal type, I introduce another, 
which people have called iiominal. 

" Dosia" Herrick — a keen, intellectual woman. She " did all 
that might become a woman," and much more. At an early 
age she donned male apparel, and drove a stage from White- 
hall to Saratoga. She sawed and chopped wood, chewed 
tol)acco, and iinally paperet^ and painted houses ; a charming 
cook withal, and lived a long time in that capacity at Major 
Thomas A. Gold's. I heard one of the most acute gentlemen 
of Pittsfield say, " she's a keen reasoner ; I take every oppor- 
tunity of talking with her." Between thii'ty and forty years 



95 

imo sIk" lived at TX-acoii Fi'mu's, in tlic lumKO oeciipiod by Mr. 
Holland, Kiist stnvt. Duriiin' a revival, tidiii^^s cniiic, Dosia 
Ilerrick is " under convicrioii/" 1 1 may he excused for using so 
obsolete a term. I Everybody was interested; and there was 
really, what would be called now, a "bulletin board." Tlie 
second mornini>: — " Dosia has ])assed a niii;lit of anuuisii I" 
q^ln. tliird — " Dosia has come out bright!" [I use these terms 
reverently. | Tliey hclj) t(» make •" The Usages." She stood in 
the aisle of tiic old church, made a profession, but oidy for a 
short time went to churcli. 1 often asked her " Why f "I 
have no clothes ; 1 won't acce})t any." " 1 liave no seat ; won't 
accept one;" and, perhaps on a stei)-ladder near the ceiling, she 
would say, " I know I love my Loi'd, 1 wait for his a[)pear- 
iuir." She livi'd to a i»-reat age. llcr eye lost its jjeculiar 
sparkle, "the sound of the grinding was low," and she was 
taken to the House of Mercy, — so against her natmal instincts, 
independent through and through. A brother at the west was 
needy, and she sent her hard earnings to him, expecting them 
returned. They never came. Many other most useful and 
prominent professors might be added. The Diinfoi'ths. tlie 
AVhites, the ( Cogswells. 

There have been a few i-ippies on the church surface. AVhen 
a bass-viol was introduced; when a font was proposed, and 
flowers; but the *' war of the roses" exceeded all. 

AVe awoke one Sa1)batli morning to the fact that the "beau- 
tiful house where oui' fathers worsliipped"" was ii-iv vocal »ly 
scorcluMl. An adjournment to Ihirbank hall, of Avhich Dr. 
Holmes said : " Tlie pictuivs that hang in I'urbank hall would 
frighten the spiders from the wall." There, until the grand 
stone edifice was comi)leted, we worshii>ped. Then came the 
(|nestion, red or blue;' Dr. Todd opposing the blue, said, 
•• How >hall 1 io<.k behind a blue cusliion." A lady remarked. 
-Till' skv is blue." "Yes! but a good way off," replied the 
Doct(»r. lilue carried the vote, and Dr. Todd preaclie<l -hhir 
l*resbyterianism." 

Will any one ask, were, or were not "the former times better 
than these ^" There certainly was a mi»re marked outward 
distinction between the so-called -Children of Light" and 



96 

" Children of Darkness." I fear Mrs. Crofoot would say, 
" You need, like a flock of sheep from the washing, to be 
branded with vermilion red to be distinguished." 

This vast audience must decide wliether age or talent called 
forth the sad yet pleasant invitation, to a modern thinker, to 
recall " Usages and Professors" of seventy years ago ! 



MISSIONARIES FROM THE FIRST CHURCH 

Between 1819 and 1850. 



BY DEACON JAS. H. DUNHAM. 



My interest in Foreign Missions commenced in 1817, when 
I was fourteen years of age, so what I have to say of that time 
must be from a boy's standpoint. I then met Mr. Levi Par- 
sons, who had come from Cambridge, N. Y., into the family of 
old Dr. Prime, (where I was living) to see if he could raise 
funds to send missionaries to the Holy Land. Ho and Rev. 
Pliny Fisk had offered themselves to go on that mission. He 
endeared himself to the youtliful members of the family, who 
all became his warm admii'ers and ardent friends. 

In 1S19 I came to Pittsfield. Fisk and Parsons had already 
gone to the Holy Land, and I was prepared to notice every- 
thing done for Foreign Missions. I was admiring a large field 
of corn growing on the west side of North street, opposite 
Maple wood, and was told that that field was being cultiA-ated 
by the deacons of the First Church for the benefit of Foreign 
Missions. The names of the deacons were Daniel Chapman, 
Daniel Crofoot, Eli Maynard, and Charles Goodrich. Very 
soon after this I heard that a Miss Partridge, living in the 
northeast part of the town, had offered herself to go as a For- 
eign Missionary, She was married to Mr. Sanniel Whitney, 



07 

and sjiili'd Mith tlii' tii'st l)an(l of missi(»iiarics tliat went to tlic 
Saiidwich Islands, in ( )('tol>cr of tliat year, (1S19). 

In the revival of 1S27, a youiiii' man was com'erteil Kv the 
name of David White, son of Mi-. Enoch White who lixcd in 
East street. lie was a very enthnsiastic Clu-istian. lie cui'lv 
consecrated himself to the work of missions, and aftei- dne 
prei)aration was sent by the American Board to Cape Palmas, 
now the Gaboon mission, on the western coast of Africa. He 
was married to a lady of Candjridfj;e, N. Y., and sailed Octol)er 
31, 183G, from Baltimore. They botli died of the fatal fever 
of that climate, after a few months' residence there. 

Al)ont the year 183!), Miss Salome Danforth, a daughter of 
Col. Joshua Danfortli, went out to Smyrna as a teacher, sent 
by the Young Ladies' Benevolent Society of the First Chui-ch. 
After a time jMiss Danforth needed an assistant teacher in her 
school, and Miss Eliza Howard, a daughter of Welcome S. 
Howard, then a niend)er of the First (Jhnrcli, was sent by the 
same society that was sup})orting Miss Danforth. ]\[iss How- 
ard retin-ncd after two or three yeai's. She was afterward 
married to Rev. Mr. AVood of the Satara mission, India, wliere 
she died in a few years. 

The next who went from this Church as a missionaiw of the 
American Board, was Dwight AVhitney Marsh. He was sent 
to the Assyrian mission. After laboring there a short time, his 
wife died, and he returned to this country. 

In Septend)er, 1848. Miss Lucy Taylor, daughter of Deacon 
Thomas Taylor, was married in the First Church to Dr. Charles 
II. AVctmore of Lebanon, Conn., and they sailed as missiona- 
ries of the American Board to the Sandwich Islands. They 
were stationed at Hilo, Hawaii, and remained in connection 
with the American I'oai-d only about six years, then became 
self-supporting. ]\Irs. Wetmore dic(l in July, 18S3. Dr. Wet- 
more is still doing the same woi-k at Ililo as when connected 
with the American Board. 

While Dr. Tajipan was our pastoi- 1 atteiided a meeting of 
])rayer for s(dio»»ls and colleges, at which Dr. Tappan said that 
the great need of missions then was not money, but men, and 
he thought it the duty i>t" Christian })ai"ents to consecrate their 



98 

cliildren to the work of missions. Mr. Ebenezer Parsons rose 
in his place and said he had a son whom lie should he glad to 
consecrate to that work if the Lord wonld accept him. Prayer 
was offered in his behalf. This son, Justin, was then a lad 
al)out six or seven years of age. He came into our Sunday 
School, and after a time went to Williams College. Du- 
ring his college course he was converted, and immediately 
gave himself to the work of foreign missions. He married 
Miss Catherine Jennings, a graduate of Oberlin College, and 
they were sent by the American Board to the Syrian mission 
April, 1850. When he was in this country some years later, on 
a visit, I related to him the incident of his father's consecration 
of him to missionary work while he was a boy. He said he 
had never heard of it before. Mr. Parsons was a modest, unas- 
suming man, a laborious and successful missionary, and greatly 
endeared himself to the people for whom he lal>ored. In Au- 
gust, 1880, while returning from one of his frequent missionary 
tours through the country, and camping for the night within a 
day's journey from his home, he was brutally murdered in his 
sleep by a band of native robbers. He left a wife and four 
children. Mrs. Parsons and a daughter are still laboring in 
the field where he spent thirty years. 

This account closes with the year 1850, since which time I 
have not l>een familiar with the work of the Church. 



Evening Session. 



IlEMAKKS OF .^[R. IIENJIY MARQUAND, 

OF NEW YOKK. 

In a (|iuHT littU' hook called "The Life of h Priii;," tliat sen- 
tentious individual records his supreme thaiiksiiivinii' for tlie 
inestinial)le blessing of a mother who could s})eak Greek. The 
only excuse that can mitigate my presumption in taking part 
in these ceremonies, is the incomparable advantage of having 
a mother who \vas born and bred in Pittsfield, and who is 
doubly a daughter of this First Church. 

This is especially a day of reminiscences, when it is more 
than ever becoming to dwell on the merits of those who have 
gone before. In the latest work of your gifted fellow-towns- 
wonian, Mrs. Rose Terry Cooke, the fidelity of whose delinea- 
tions of Xew England life has never been sur])assed, tliere is 
an a})Ostrophe to the notable (jualities of the young women of 
a former day contrasted very f(»r<'il>ly witli tlic incHnations of 
the present, that have i)roduced " a class of over-dressed, fiaunt- 
iuir, sill V, selfish creatures." (I should not dare to indulsi:c in 
such language without tlic protection of (pi(ttation-uiark>.) 
You will find the same sentiment in Jioccaccio — if you are per- 
mitted to read J^occaccio — who says, "That virtue which 
adorned the minds of women in former times is passed in our 
day into the ornaments of the body ; and she whose habit is 
most iraudv, and set oif with the most embroideries and fantas- 
tic fringes, deemeth herself worthy of honor above her fellows, 
not considering that if it be a fpiestion of loading themselves 
with bravery, an ass will carry m(»re than any one of them.'" 
AVith such examples it will not l>e thought singular in me, if 
for tlie moment I close my eyes to the undoubted charms (.f 
the i»resent generation, and join the jn-ocessiou in praise of that 
whicli has jireceded it, thus taking a liint from Charles Laml», 
L.ofC. 



100 

who, in reply to a friend's conmient that his works would never 
be read by posterity, exclaimed, " Confound posterity ! I shall 
write for antiquity." 

I am not aware that speaking Greek was accounted one of 
the accomplishments of the households of Pittsfield one hun- 
dred and twenty-five years ago, but I do know that those 
households at that time and ever since have produced a mighty 
fine strain of mothers, and it will never be brought up against 
them if the time stolen from the study of Xenophon and 
Aristotle has been profitably employed in spanking good New 
England morals and sound IS^ew England sense into intelligent 
offspring. The New England mother is a success. I wish I 
had the elocjuence to deduct the loveliness of her nature, the 
nobility of her character, the SM'eetness of her dis]>osition ; but 
I can only say with a feeling of gratitude, " Gt»d bless her!" 
and recommend any who may be in search of mothers or 
grandmothers, to look out for the New England variety and the 
Pittsfield pattern. 

The first pastor of your churcli presents a very interesting 
figure. He deserves to be rememl)ered for the gallant way in 
which he fought at Bennington, though nothing less could be 
expected of one who poured hot shot into Satan and all his 
works during a long and active life, than that he should mani- 
fest equal courage when confronted by a visible foe. But even 
more significant is it to discern in his character that old Puritan 
(piality which your pastor has eloquently spoken of this morn- 
ing, the quality of individualism which goes to strengthen a 
sturdy sense of personal liberty, and which is in a measure the 
foundation-stone of our American republic. Can you imagine 
that he would have anything l)ut scorn for that modern notictn 
whicli makes of all life a mechanism, of all men and women 
mere machines, and which induces large bodies of men to re- 
lincpiish every attribute of manhood at the l)ehest of an irre- 
sponsible demagogue ? He was employed in forming a com- 
munity where everybody was somebody ; he and his successors 
were occupied in building up a church in which the individual 
was not ignored, thus striving to purify the mass l»y elevating 
and purifying its integral parts. It is this cpiality that has 



1(11 

stainpcfl tlie New Eiiiflaiid cliuracier wherever it has pene- 
trated, tliat is found in lier lei^islation, in lier literature and her 
thoii<:!:ht, an animating an<l uplifting force. 

And what a glorious theatre is that in which this wholesome 
principle was illustrated hv such a life as his. I sec that soli- 
tary tii^ure wendiiii; his wav back fioiii l>enninu:ton throuuh 
the ex(]uisite mazes of the Jloosac Valley, (-ii'eylock is before 
him piercing the heavens with a halo of ck)ud about its toj), 
aiul he 

" by the vision splendid 

Is on bis way attended." 

Everv turn of the road revealed a new scene of beauty to 
his sii;-ht in an arrangement of hills <ind lakes sur])assing to a 
partial eye the boasted glories of Killarney. The elms were as 
nol)]c and as stately then as to-day. Jjirch and maple tlun<r 
their goi-geous dyes along the river-banks and covoi-ecl the 
mountains with a blaze of glory, and when 

"At last tlie suinnier meadows lost 
Their ruby-boss't and emerald hues, 

September tossed 
Upon the hills her dews 
White with the autumn frost." 

It is an inspiration to own kinship with traditioii> >(> pre- 
cious, to feel, however remotely, a sense of pi'itprietur>liij) in a 
scenic splendor so entrancing. 



REMAEKS OF PIIOF. II. UU]\[riIKEV NKILL, 

Of Amherst Colle(je. 

It is with a great deal of satisfaction that, in I'itt.-^field, 1 am 
at last called upon to re})resent myself. Among these surround- 
ings, and before these faces, I have all my life been trying to 
live up to a name. 

.As a boy I was ])atted on tlie head, ii.s a young man I was 
asked to say ''How do you do" to strangers, becau.se I was 
named Ileman llumi)hrey. In cujii-gc I received undue atten- 
tion through a kind of pivsidi'utial ni'poti>m, and when foi- the 



102 

first time I preaclied in this pulpit, whui-e I was inwardly striv- 
ing to niastei' some individual gait, and gather some personal 
grace, I was introduced as tlie son of my father and the grand- 
son of my grandfather, and then left to sail my way through 
the sermon, nameless and undistinguished, on a sea of ancestral 

When this exceedingly kind invitation from the Church of 
Pittsiield came to Amherst College, and the College asked me 
to serve as their delegate, I mildly intei-posed that on the very 
day which the Pittsfield Church was to make renowned for all 
ages the Facility had given me two classes to teach. How could 
I leave ? The answer was, tliat if I had not had a grandfather 
I might never have had any classes at all to teach in xindierst ! 

Thus I have come, and by your sympathetic introduction 
have had added to the bequests of hereditary vocation the du- 
ties of an individual. 

I had thought to come and say that for the first time in her 
history Amherst College had an o23portunity to discharge a 
del)t of obligation to the Pittsfield Church in thanking that 
church for the gift of a president in the early struggle of the 
college for existence. But I now find that I am expected to 
acknowledge a theft (in taking Dr. Humphrey from Pittsfield) 
and to confess tlie crime. 

In either case I bring you the gratitude of Andierst College, 
and the joy that she feels in her partnership with you in the 
services of this noljle man. 

I know the difiiculty with which Dr. Huinphrey left Pitts- 
field. I know the decision to accept the call to Amherst was 
made only after long deliberation. But he could not be a " foun- 
dation-man" in Pittsfield. The names that surround us on these 
shields had already laid foundations here, while in that young 
institution whose cry had reached him he might begin at the 
bottom. 

If I should speak of the value of that gift of yours to tlie 
College, I could not pretend to impartiality. It is doubtless 
true that every point of his life is illuminated to me by the 
glory of my own reverence and love, a glory which has trans- 
lated his life into an ideal, and made of his memory an inspira 



103 

tion ; yet tlie best of this eonfessioii is that I know soiiietliin<; 
of the same reverence and love dwells in the licarts (.f many 
whose eyes I meet this eveninij'. 

When Dr. TIum|)hrey went fi-om Pittstield to Amherst he 
eame into elose contact witli young- men. He returned from 
Amherst to Pittsfield to l)rini;- hack to you such an attachment 
t<» youui;- i)eo|)le as he never could have known hut for the ex- 
perience of college life. He returned a leader among the young 
and hopeful, mature in wisdom, meUow in charity, his youth 
renewed like the eagle's. 

It is as he eame back from Amherst that J remend)er him 
best, and most of you best remember him ; not the man with 
black hair aii<l full color, but the man whose presence walked 
toward the sunset while his s[)irit had not forgotten the dawn. 
As we thus remend)er him, he stands for a type of character 
not entirely modern, one for which our eyes are not so kindly 
and so widely o2)ened as wei-e those of his owmi generation. 
This is the day of the specialist. It is hard to find an old-fa.'^h- 
ioned family doctor. AVe have a physician for each disease. 
Lawyers now mass themselves in firms, each member of which 
attends to one department, and does not practice in an office, 
but occupies a compartment. Students in college tend away 
from a liberal educaticm toward the limitations of one kiiul of 
learning. Thus men become brilliant at points, illuminated as 
l)y electricity, with small dispersive power. 

Where is the old character that was once an inhabitant of our 
New England towns? Those men were spherical in their de- 
velopment, and radiaut from every part. They exercised a 
lasting influence on the whole community, and were filways 
larger than their ]m)fession. It was a character something 
after this sort; wanting the gleam of the carbon-point, but dif- 
fusing a silent benediction; without the originality of eccen- 
tricity, but sound in its sanity; complete in its (leveloj)ment, 
following the (T(»d of righteousness; benign, gracious, j)enetra- 
trating, sturdy. It was such a character that walkecl these 
streets in the body (»f Dr. llumphi-ey. 

He went from your church in Pittsfield to ft-ach young men 
ill Hampshire County how to live; he returned to teach men 



104 

in Berksliire County liow to grow old and how to die. The 
most precious lesson that can be taught to any generation that 
lias passed the boundary of youth, is the faculty of growing old 
graciously, grandly, and with large charity. 

Dr. Humphrey was a Calvinist of the Calvinists, but what- 
ever may have been inwrought into the fibre of his integrity 
through doctrine did not prevent in him an adaptabihty to cir- 
cumstances, a broad wisdom and a faith in humanity, which 
enal^led him tow^elcome all that promoted progress, without de- 
stroying his reverence for the tested thought of the past. When, 
therefore, the struggle was over in which the charter of Am- 
herst College was fairly wrested from its opponents in the Leg- 
islature, a clause was found in that charter making it binding 
on the ( 'Ollege that no difference of religious belief or doctrine 
should prevent any one from occupying a professor's chair, or a 
student from gaining any of tlie emoluments of the Institution. 

This is the man whom we sent back to you, and I am now 
ready to receive your'thanks for returning him in such excel- 
lent order. 

I remember him as he walked these streets and greeted al- 
most the whole town as his friends. I remember him as lie 
took me l)y the liand and led me about your gardens and your 
beautiful enclosures. I remember when the click of his cane 
on tlie door-steps of your homes was the only signal needed to 
open the door for his welcomed entrance. I remember when 
he pointed out the trees his society had planted, and rejoiced in 
their growth, though he knew he should never enjoy their 
shade. In his old age I remember him when all the beauty 
of Pittsfield was his to enjoy, and the glory of eternity lie 
simply waited for. 

It is this Dr. Humphrey whom I represent in the s])irit as 
well as in the body, and for whom Amherst College returns 
her thanks to this Church and to this people. 



105 



REMARKS i:V \IKV. CHARLES J. II I LI. 

Of Stonington, Conn. 

This is the first intimation that I have had that I was to be 
called upon to say anything this evening ; hut your Pastor 
wishes a few words spoken for Dr. Todd. After the gi-aceful 
and elo<|U('iit ti-ihute of Mr. Jenkins this morning, no words of 
mine can add anything to your lionor and esteem for Dr. Tochl. 

Among tlie earliest incidents of my cliildhood I rememl»er 
tliat on a warm Sunday afternoon my father took me with my 
hrotliers and sisters to the Sunday-School of the new Congre- 
gational C/hurch that had just l»een organized in Pliihidel])hia. 
Wo all sat on a vacant serai-circular seat l»y the door, and tim- 
idly waited for some one to speak to tis. Very soon the minis- 
ter, whom I had never seen, came in from his study and sjxikc 
to us so pleasantly ;ind kindly that all fcai" vanislicd. As I 
happened to he sitting on the end of the seat, and was the 
youngest, he laid his hand upon my head and said : " My boy, 
I hope you will become a good man and preach the Gospel." 
I did not know what he meant, but somehow I never lost the 
impression which those few words made upon me. Ever after- 
ward I felt that there was a peculiar l)lessing in the touch of 
the good man's hand. Often my father would remind me of 
it, and recall ray wayward feet by saying, " RememlK'r, Dr. 
Todd said you were to preach the Gospel." So enduring was 
the influence of that little act of the new minister ! 

After awhile Dr. Todd left Philadelphia and went to Pitts- 
field. The love of all the Sunday-School followed him. lie 
had won the hearts of all the children. On one occasion he 
sent down a great box of maple sugar, and I shall never forget 
how we felt, when, at the close of the afternoon session, each 
scholar i-eccived a little cake. We treasmx'd and kept it, I 
know not how long. In our ignorance we thought that Pitts- 
field was far oil" in the woods, and were very sorry foi- the good 
man we loved. We did not know that it canu' fi'om Long 
Lake. 

When 1 decided to y;o to colle*ie, and <leterniincd to carry out 
the prediction of ray Pastor, I wrote to Dr. Todd about Will- 



106 

iams College, and he advised me to go tliere, and added, 
" When yon come, stop at my honse." Afterward I fonnd it 
very agreeable to stop over on my way l^ack and forth. Dr. 
Hopkins, of w^hom I nsed to ask permission wlien I wanted to 
come dowai in term time to attend a concert at Maplewood, 
witli a merry twinkle in his eye wonld say, " Yes ; and if you 
happen to see Dr. Todd, jnst remember me to him.'' It often 
" happened" that I did see him ! 

So I came to know Dr. Todd very intimately, and l)ecame a 
good deal interested in this chnrch. 

It was my privilege to be the first yonng man to lead np this 
aisle the lady whom he was to call his wife ; who, in his esti- 
timation, was the choicest of Pittsiield's most intellectnal and 
brilliant danghters. On another occasion it was my delight to 
bring my little son and have him consecrated to Christ and 
baptized with the name of his grandfather. It was here, too, 
that I preached my first sermon, which Dr. Todd criticised so 
kindly that I never had occasion to repeat it, bnt cherished the 
valnable lessons his suggestions gave me as among the most 
useful instructions of my ministerial life. 

You who knew Dr. Todd so well do not need to have me 
speak of his preaching. He had Fanl's lielief in the power of 
]>i-eaching, and the Apostle's conviction that it was w^oe to him 
if he preached not the Gospel. He gave himself witli all his 
enthusiasm to the one work of his high calling. He pressed 
into its service all the enei'gies of his keen intellect, vivid im- 
agination, romantic fancy, dramatic powers, pleasing humor and 
glowing pathos. He read much — read everything — and en- 
riched his sermons with the cream. He traveled extensively, 
left nothing unseen, asked cpiestions until men gi-ew weary of 
answering, acquired all the knowledge that could be gained, and 
then returned to delight his people with his vivid descrijjtions, 
and make God's trnth clearer by his capital illustrations. He 
studied hard on his sermons. Though he had more despatch 
than any man I ever knew, he never thought he could accom- 
plish anything without working with all his might. And so he 
became a ])owerfnl preacher, original in style, convincing in 
argument, striking in liis illustrations, glowing in imagery, 



107 

IV'rvid Mild tender. At times he was y;nuidly ul()(|uent, never 
dull, and had no patience with stuj)id preacliers. lie was never 
afraid of tlie trntli ; ni'Nci- nnwilliiii!; to see new truths. Tliout^li 
he was not a scientiiie man he was fond of investigation, and 
always welcomed the discoveries of science, and had no feai* 
that God Mould deny in his works what he had said in his 
W(^rd. lie ]>reached the strong, hold, stern truths of sin and 
guilt and punishment ; but always so tenderly and lovingly that 
you were sure it gave him more pain to speak than it did you 
to hear. You felt that he loved you and wanted to save you. 
He was never hopeless. On the dark hackground of sin he 
always showed the radiant Cross. Even those wlm did in it 
agree with him were moved by his pathos and won by his 
kindness. As you heard it beautifully said this morning, this 
nuignilicent church, with all its influence for good, its far reach- 
ing ])enev<)lence, its Chi'istian progrcssiveness, its love for the 
ever-<;rowin<2; Kinmlom of Christ, aiui its ransomed saints ijath- 
ered with him in the Temple on high, is his best monument. 
Von are what you are because he l(»ved and served you so long 
and faithfully. 

You rememl)er that beautiful day wIilmi wi' bore him up this 
aisle, along which he had so many times walked with joyful or 
anxious tread. The solenm strains of the organ did not disturb 
him. The respectful rising of the people did not awake him. 
We laid him down in front of this pidpit in which he had so 
earnestly ju'eached the (tospel of Salvation. Ilis brethren told 
of his faithfulness, a!id mourned, saying, "Alas ! my brother!" 
]\Iore than three thousand people of all classes and creeds 
passed sadly by and looked into the face of the man they had 
S(,» long l(»ved. We moved along the streets that were crowded 
witli sorrowful spectators, standing witli uncovered heads. Wv 
passed by the Catholic Church, whose bell tolled for the good 
man who conmianded the honor and reverence even of those 
from whom he differed in his creed. We entered the cemetery, 
consecrated by his })rayers, wound along the avemie fittingly 
called the Pilgrimage to the lot })urchased by your generosity, 
aiitl there, in a grave completely walled with roses, we laid him 
down to rest. Little children gathered around the beautiful 



108 

grave, whose gloom was all taken away, and threw their fragrant 
flowers npon his casket ; sweet voices sang his funeral song ; a 
loving friend spoke your farewell ; and the lingering rays of 
the setting sun shone into his grave, as if in token of the glory 
that had ah-eady greeted his spirit; and so we buried John 
Todd. 

We rejoice that such a man lived and died among you, and 
that you to-day rise up and call him blessed. 



EEMARKS OF EEV. E. O. I^ARTLETT, 

Of Providence, R. I. 

It is a great thing to have a history ; a family history, a na- 
tional history, a church history. Lord Bacon said, '' Histories 
make men wise." They do more ; read aright, they make men 
reverent, lead them to trust in Providence and to believe in 
God, the great over-ruling good. However confused and un- 
meaning the present may seem to man's short-sighted vision, 
and however fragmentary and insignificant an individual life 
may appear, like a waif on the sea or a feather in the air, 

"The sport of every wave that flows: 
The sport of every wind that blows;" 

nevertheless, in the march of the centuries God is seen to be 
working out his own grand purposes toward the good time 
coming, when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of 
the glory of God as the waters cover the sea." 

Hence there are few duties more sacred than that of pre- 
serving historv, and few moi-e difiicult. Memory is so treacli- 
(3j.o^;s^ — so like a mirror that retains its object only while pass- 
ing, — and the present is so full that tliere is little room for the 
past. And then over-much space must not be given to the past, 
for, while history is to be our helper, it is not to be our depend- 
ence ; while it is a portion of our mental, moral, and spiritual 
food, it is not to be the stafi" of life. 

Our favorite American poet, emphasizing the declaration 
Christ made eighteen hundred years ago, says, " Let the dead 



past Itiirj its dead;" and I'aul exclaims, " F«»rovttiii<;- those thin<j;s 
which arc behind, and reacliini;- I'di-th unto those tliin<j^s wlilcli 
arc l)eforc, I })ivs.s forward toward tiie mark for tlio lii<;h eali- 
in<; of Ood in Christ Jesus." Tliat man will l)ccomo morose 
and sour and mouldy who, like Lot's wife, is always lookin*; 
Lack. It is a bad sign when a num is always dwelling on the 
past and can see no profit or pleasm-e in the present ; to whom 
the past is a kind of golden age, and the present the carnival of 
evil and fraud and passion and avarice. Such a man l)ec<»mes 
a Cassandra, a prophet of evil to whom no one will listen ; he 
becomes a misanthrope, a hater of his kind, and finally of his 
own self. The past is a nnisty volume, and under its mold i> 
the poison of asps. It is death mentally, morall}', and s])iritu- 
ally to live in the past. Our life is in the [)resent, and we are 
to study the past oidy so far as it helps us to live and to do 
more intensely in the present, "heart within and Cod o'er head."" 
This it will do, if we look l)ack over the past M'here the fini^er 
of God points the Avay. If we read history as we would exam- 
ine a casket holding a jewel, and that jewel the church of the 
living God, then history will be as a lani}) thi'owing its light 
before. Then we shall learn not to underestimate the present, 
for we shall see that it is a part of that same casket that can 
not be broken. However lax the present may seem, however 
cold and formal religion may ap])ear, nevertheless our C(»nfi- 
dence will be immensely strengthened by the revelation of 
history that the present is only a part out of which (ioi\ is 
working our good and his own glory. 

For ages past God has wondrously preserved his j)eople. 
Amid all the vicissitudes of rising and falling empires, wars, 
pestilence and famine, the church has remained like the kernel 
(tf fruit whose hard shell has l)een bruised and Iiattered !»\- the 
hurricanes and tornadoes. When autumn comes — "the last 
days'" — the bruised shell falls apart, falls away and is lost, but 
the kernel, the rich fruit, is gathered and jireserved. So em- 
l)ires fall and kings jnuss away and are forgotten, but thechurch 
of the living God, to which they have been as the shell of the 
forest to its rich fruit, remains. 

Statesmen and mei-chant priiiciv- think that the great inrere>t> 



110 

of the world all center in their plans and achievements ; they 
think that government and con(|nest and commerce are the 
chief ends of man. Bnt government and commerce are only 
the shell that holds the kernel. They shall fall, pass away, l)e 
forgotten, and the kernel, the church, garnered by the Chief 
Shepherd, shall nourish and strengthen Christian hearts in all 
generations to come. 

So it has been in the past ; so it shall be in the future. This 
is the great revelation of history. " As the mountains are 
round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round al)out his people 
from henceforth even forever." " Tell youi* children of it, and 
let your children tell their children, and their children another 
generation." (Joel 1 : 3.) 

God will never desert his people. " They are," says the 
Pro])het Isaiah, " the holy seed, and as a tall tree and as an oak 
whose sid)stance is in them when they cast their leaves," the 
church shall remain when all here like leaves have fallen. For 
her substance is of Go.d. She luis a divine life and can never 
die. One generation may come and another go, vast material 
changes may take place, ])arties and governments may rise and 
fall, kings and presidents may flourish and die, but the church 
fjf (lod shall never die. This marvelous life of the church, 
when everything else is changing so rapidly and passing away, 
calls us to new faith, new hopes, renowned exertions and sacri- 
fices, fully assured that such faith, works, and love shall endure 
as the brightness of the firmament and the stars forever and 
ever. 

" Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their 
children, and their children another generation." This you have 
l)een doing to-day, not simply recalling the past in a boasting 
way, though no people ever had a Ijetter reason for boasting 
than this Church. You are here fulfilling the conujiand of 
Christ ; you are doing what Moses did so often, what the 
prophets did, and the apostles, and what is left for us to con- 
timie to do after them, — to tell the history of the Church as an 
argument for God and Ilis divine govermnent, for it will sweep 
away the infidelity and scepticism of the day as no other reason 
or influence can. No human philosophy can account for the 



Ill 

marvelous life and eoiitiniiancc of tlic clmrcli tlirouijli all a^-es. 
In these exercises you have i^eaclied a sei-mou that will remain 
with the young as an argument for God, His existence, and His 
})i-ovidential govei-ument. You have illustrated a great truth 
that shall god(»wn to your childi'cii and to their children, even 
to anothei' generation. And we all may thank (tchI i'oi- such a 
liistory, and he grateful that we have had any })art or lot in it. 
I thank this Tastor, this committee of arrangements, this 
dear pcoj)le of Pittstield. that once more J have hecn permitted 
to stand in this grand old tem[)l(' and mingle my words and 
prayers with yours. 



KEMARKS OF PRESIDENT CARTER, 

Of Wiijja]S[s Coi.lege. 

I need not express to you the pleasure that I feel in coming 
liere to present my congratulations and the congratulations of 
Williams College to this ancient Churcli for its ever increasing 
glory. If I were to tell 3'on the entlmsiastic feeling I liave 
cherished for Pittstield ever since the time when I came on my 
horse up that main street, seventy-two miles fi-om my home in 
Connecticut, on my road to Williamstown, you might think me 
very complimentary, hut I have such a reverence for this [)lace 
that it is difticnlt for me to helieve that AVilliamstown was set- 
tled oidy one year later than Pittstield, and that the Church in 
Williamstown was estahlished only a year later than this church 
in Pittsfiehl ; so tliat, as we celehrated our centennial in 1805, 
we should celehrate our one hundred and twenty-tifth anniver- 
sary a year hence. 

Little did I dream when I came in sight of tins beautiful 
town, with its hroad streets and so much of beauty everywhere, 
that so much of my life was to l)e spent in this good old T>erk- 
shire County. Little did I dream that this Church, which I 
noted, was so intinuitely connected with an Institution in which 
I was to become so largely interested. How shall I exjiress to 
you the sense of the debt of gratitude which we owe foi' these 
names — so manv of them, which an* down in our catalojiiie as 



112 

trustees of our College? I will only mention Henry Yan 
Schaack. He was an Episcopalian who liad nnich to do with 
breaking down that original connection between the town and 
the spread of the Congregational policy of which we lieard this 
afternoon. I also may cite Dr. Humphrey who was also a 
trustee of Williams College. You know, perhaps, that the 
birth of Andierst College was not altogether a matter of con- 
gratulation to Williams. You may know, perhaps, that how- 
ever ready Williams — as a matter of course — was to increase 
her sons, like a good many other parents, she objected to more 
daughters. 

You may know that the first president of Amherst College 
was stolen from the presidency of Williams. I will not say 
stolen, because I believe that even in those times infants were 
not considered capable of sinning. I will not say that in a 
theological sense, that was strictly a theft, and, perhaps, in an 
etymological sense Amherst College was not an infant, at least 
in speaking, for she called very loudly, and exercised a choice 
early in lier existence. Perhaps you know that Dr. Moore, 
who left the presidency of Williams, went to Amherst, l)ecame 
president, and lived only two years after he went there. What 
the mysterious conditions were that existed I will not say. As 
t(T his death, is it not reasonable to suppose that lie was worn 
out taking care of that abandoned infant during the first two 
years of his administration ? 

Tlien, having taken Dr. Moore, they took the pastor of tliis 
church. Dr. Humphrey, who was trustee of Williams, and re- 
mained a trustee of Williams for two years after he became 
president of Amherst. I don't know what would l)e thought 
of such a thing now-a-days. I suppose he remained, probably, 
in the desire to soften the heart of the cruel mother toward her 
vigorous and beautiful though abandoned infant. At the same 
time there are those who have wickedly suspected that he ex- 
pected to be in at the bedside at the final distribution, and carry 
oif the tea-spoons and other precious things to Amherst. Thank 
God, these antagonisms have passed! Since then the sons of 
Amherst and AVilliams, in every conflict, have stood shoulder 
to shoulder. Wherever men have been placed striking for the 



113 

in-ogi'ess of Imuiiiiiity; vvlierover patient liearts have heat in 
union, and eager eyes have been watching for the coining of 
(lod's kingdom, the sons of tliese two colleges have stood to- 
gether for the j)rogress of everything that was right. What- 
ever superficial relation may seem to be strained, down nndci-- 
neath — as I can testify — their aims are the same, and tlx! true 
bonds are as strong as life itself l)etween them. Let us not f<»i'- 
get liev. ]\Ir. J>ailey, also a pastor of this church, a trustee of 
onr college for two years, and the Rev. Mr. J3rinsmade, who, 
for eighteen years blessed us with his genial goodness and 
wisdom. T might mention Edward Xewton, who was also a 
trustee of Williams ('ollege. All the Newtons, if yon begin 
with Sir. Isaac, have been characterized by charity of mind. 
In India, Edward was a friend of lieginald Heber; had he lived 
in England, he wonld have been a friend of William Wilber- 
force. These names have a significance in this anniversary. It 
is a matter of deep gratitude that we can congratulate ourselves 
that on this beautiful, broad plateau religious principles are so 
in unison, and that the friendliness between denominations will 
not perish in this or any other generation that may follow. 

Then I might speak of Dr. Todd, who was wise and great 
and enduring. He was the last of the dynasty of "'jn'ophet, 
priest, and king" in a New England parish. He, for twenty- 
seven years, went up to Williams College to [)articipate in 
the councils of its governing board. 

1 might speak of Judge Colt, a man of commanding presence, 
whose presence inspired respect and whose words deepened 
that respect. Although his power never came into the admin- 
istration I represent, the fruits of his labors 1 am nevertheless 
privilege<l to inherit. I will say that the succession is still 
maintained in the ])erson tif that gentleman who read to-day 
that extremely interesting paper on the '' Relations of the Parish 
to the Church.'" whi(;h were so well maintained in this blessed 
town. 

We may not see Samuel Hopkins and ISte[)hen West in tlu-ir 
three-cornered hats, in their small-clothes, in their silver- 
buckled shoes, and bands and gowns, but their noble lives re- 
main. Tbev went forth from the southern towns to establish 



114 

and found clmrehes, to ordain ministers, in the northern dis- 
tricts. I was deeply affected by reading a remark of tlie late 
Rev. Dr. Orville Dewey at the Berks! lire Jnbilee. He said he 
was profoundly impressed by the reading of a little child, but 
did not understand what the child was reading or why he was 
so affected, until on reflection he noticed something in the voice 
that l)rought before him the beloved Dr. West. 

Could we, my friends, catch the subtle tones and qualities 
that live to-day in the voices of the descendants of these great 
men ; could we know what imperceptible links even in voice 
and action l:)ind us, their descendants, to them ; could we hear 
the inaudil)le whispers of encouragement tliat they would and 
do utter, should we not be profoundly affected ? It is not to- 
day a single voice, but a chorus, a hallelujah chonis, that we 
miglit hear. But as we study more minutely and disentangle 
the chords, we find one strain higher tlian all others ; it is that 
of their dependence upon God. We will not forget that they 
had their struggles and like us needed encouragement; tliat 
they had every day all that they could bear. 

There was in California, a few years since, a town illumined 
by the electric light. A grouj) of burners on a tall mast threw 
the light a great distance in every direction and obviated tlie 
necessity of any widely extended system of posts and wires. It 
has seemed to me that that brilliant and central combustion 
might not inaptly symbolize the old central church in the New 
England theocracy. It gathered into its inner circle the instruc- 
tion, the reverence, the government of the community, and 
stood majestic, intense, dominating a wide area, and assuming 
to direct the words even of individuals and the currents of 
family life. For that age of few and simple elemehts and 
homogeneous force-centers it was a successful system. But the 
arc-light does not answer well in a fog. Even a brilliance equal 
to t\vo thousand candles is no better in a vapor than a simple 
gas-jet. The latter is rich in those red rays that penetrate a 
fog without being absoi-bed, but the arc light has the blue rays 
that are so easil}- extinguished by mist. The brilliant electric 
system does well for dry air and starlit skies. That old Puri- 
tanic S3'stem was good for the clear ether of two hundred years 



115 

ago; hut t()-(liiy not hy tlieucmtic (loiiiinioii, not l»y massive 
.statements of diK'tfine, not l)y tlie minute a|)[)lication of le^'ality, 
not by a Procrustean machine clio})ping oil" thou^^ht and words, 
hut ])y patient condescension, by the gracious gift of true liber- 
ty, l)y tlie ta})ei- carried by a thousand hands, are hearts to be 
reached, the dark habitations of cruelty to be transformed into 
Christian homes, and the mists and vapors of scientific specu- 
lation and pretentious Agnosticism to l^e dispelled, until the Sun 
of liighteousness arise with healing in his wings. Not the elec- 
tric light of the New p]ngland theocracy, but the loving hand 
holding the candle of the Lord carried by the patient foot to 
the outcast and the ignorant is the emblem of the less im- 
posing, but not less victorious church of to-day. 



KEMARK8 OF DEACON JAMES FRANCIS 

Ok Pittsfield, Mass. 

1 am ([uite sure 1 express the sentiments of this whole com- 
munity in saying tliat we arc under new ol)ligations to this 
Church, for the ])rivilege of listening to the interesting pa])ers 
and addresses, recalling most vividly not only the important 
events in its history. ])ut the many noble men and women 
whose lives were consecrated on this altar. 

I shall confine my references to five men, all farmers, located 
tw^o and a half miles west of the center, in what was then called 
the A\''est School District. 

Punning from this north was the road leading to the North 
West District; on one of these corners w^as the school-house and 
on the other my father's house. 

The farms were in a cluster, divided only by the road. Sev- 
eral of them extended back to Onota J.ake, thus encroaching 
upon the favorite liunting-grounds of the Indians. The names 
of the farmei's M'ere Captain William Francis, from Weathers- 
field ; Captain Daniid Sackett, from Wi-sttield ; Cai)tain dohn 
('hurchill, from old iM\ iimiitli ; Colonel ()li\('i' Poot, from 
Westtield; and Dt-acon dames llubbai'd, fi'oni AVestfield. 

Two ])revious elVoi'ts bad been made to settle these farms; 



iir> 

one from the east, \vhi('li was frustrated hy the Indians, the 
other by the Dutch, from the state of New Yoi*k, who after a 
time, left, saying they dare not risk their families among the 
Indians. 

Let us pause a moment, and look at the husbands and wives 
who made the first real settlement, as they are now settled upon 
their forest farms. Every farmer who hears me knows that it 
takes one generation to su])due a forest farm. Their roads, 
their l)ridges, their school-houses are all yet to be built, to say 
nothing of their meeting-houses. Add to this the cares of the 
Indians, and recollect that as military officers they are to j^ass 
through two wars, viz., the French and Indian war, and the war 
of the Revolution. The echo of a musket tired on a high rock 
near one of their dwellings was the signal for them to march 
their minute-men to the front. Several of these men were at 
the l)attle of Bennington, and three or four of them at the sur- 
render of Burgoyne's army, at Saratoga. 

As was said by one of the Pilgrim Fathers, " These lives of 
anxiety and toil are not for ourselves alone, but for those who 
shall come after us," so might these men have said. 

It is profitable for us often to recall the lives of these fathers 
and mothers who were the pioneers of the present generation, 
and it were well that their names were embalmed in our mem- 
ories. 

Whence came our Ijeautiful quiet homes, our excellent 
churches, these schools, and these splendid libraries ? 

These five men and women were fine sjjecimensof humanit}'^, 
physically, mentally, and morally, and would have been so re- 
garded in any age or community. Sparta in all her best days, 
with all her boasting, never reared ten nobler or more heroic 
men and women than they. Three of these men were over six 
feet in height, and the others were not much less. Captain 
William Francis was called Governor Francis until the day of. 
his death. I never knew why. Some used to say he was a 
born leader of men ; perhaps that was it. Symmetrically 
built, with a lion-like tread, and a countenance that no Indian 
would forget. Cok)nel Oliver Root, directly across the road, 
was six feet tall and heavier built. Second in connnand of a 



117 

reginuMit near tlio i\[()liawk Nullt-v, attackefl hy a superior force 
of Fi-t'iicli and Indians in anihusli. Colonel Jjrown already shot 
down l»y liis side with many of the men, he then led the re- 
mainder of the re^-iment to a blockdionse not far away, and 
there defended himself against the enemy. Colonel Root had 
six hoys, each six feet high, and it used to he ])leasantly said 
that he ha<l " thirty-six feet (if hoys!" No weaklings would 
have settled down where they did : if they had they could not 
liave staid ov^er night. The Indians idxiut them were, none of 
them, of tlie Stockhridy-e tribe. The Stoekhridj^e Indians were 
always friendly. Cai)tain William Francis once said to me, 
"When I had purchased this farm and luiilt a log-house, there 
were hut forty men in town. Coming with a hired man from 
the center to the farm, and darkness connng on hefoi'e we had 
acconi])lished all we desired, 1 decided to stay over night. The 
log-housi' was stri>ngly huilt, we barricaded the door, and lay 
down to rest. About midnight I heard Indians around the 
house. 1 listened, ho[)ing to learn theii- number. Awaking 
my man, I tokl him we must be ready for their reception. 
They continued around the house until daylight, when we re- 
moved tlie barricade from the door, and abi>ut half a mile 
away I counted nine Indians. A short time l)efore an Indian 
had l)eeii shot near the lake, and his friends had swcjrn ven- 
geance. They knew there were but two of us within, and 
prol)ably came designing to break in. They well knew, how- 
ever, there would be less live Indians to count in the nioi'iiing 
if they did, and so they decided not to make the attack." 

On another occasion Mrs. Hubbard, the wife of Deacon 
Ilnbliard. found hcrst'lf alone in her house, her hu>band bt'lng 
away. ( )n entering her kitchen, she was confronted by three 
Indians. The Indian never knocks; it is not his way. Iler 
tirst thought was to blow the tin horn hanging u})on the wall 
to be used as a signal if an^'thing is wanted at the house. The 
next instant she decided difleivntly — it might cost her ln'r life. 
The Indians cabed for food, and she suj)})lied it, and wliate\ei' 
else they called for, if she had it, it was given them. She 
ht»[)ed by supplying them liberally they would so(»n leave, but 
they knew they should not be interru])ted, and were not in a 



118 

hurry. Finally tliev went away. These Indians knew the 
men too well to dare treat their families with cruelty in their 
absence. Their hi«;hest ideal, streiujtli and fearlessness they 
had seen in them. 

I have thus (juite imperfectly referred to some of the sur- 
roundings of these settlers, fair s})ecimcns of the solid men and 
women who so early laid the foundations of this (Uiurch. 

My father one day announced to the family that Deacon 
ITuhhard was severely sick, and that the doctor thought he 
would not recover. He tlien added, ''Parson Allen visited him 
yesterday, aiul standing hy his hed and taking him ])y the 
hand he said, 'Deacon Hubbard you must live, we cannot 
spare you,' and then kneeling he prayed most fervently that 
God woidd spare Deacon Hubbard's life, for the Church's sake, 
and then for God's sake; and then, after a solenni pause, he 
added another prayer, 'O God spare Deacon Hul)bard's life 
for mny sake ! ' " Tliese prayers were answered ; Deacon Hub- 
bard was restored to health, to l)e a blessing to the Church and 
community for years. 



APPENDIX. 



Rki'Out of TiiK Cki.erration ok the 125TH Anniversary of the First 
Church or Christ in Pittsfiei.d. 



Most of the reasons wliicli calk'd for and led to the somewhat elaborate 
celebration of the I'^oth anniversary of the foundation of the First " Chureh 
of Christ" in Pittstield, >vill be rcadilj' dediieed from the historieal address 
and essays printed in the preceding pages of this volume ; and it will even 
be conceded that the history so graphically related would have justified a 
much more pretentious demonstration. As it was, however, little was left 
to be desired except a larger attendance of the children of tlie Church, wlio 
are found in every part of the Union. This was not to be expected in the 
inclement season during which historical truth required the celebration to 
be held. Still, had the interest which attended the occasion been generally 
anticipated, doubtless more would have braved the threatening skies to 
take part in it. As it is, they must be content with the printed tran.script, 
which— while it necessarily lacks tlu^ magnetism of an assemblage bound to- 
gether by so many, so entwining and so far-reaching, ties as those which 
might almost be said to have given one soul to the hundreds who gathered 
in the church and chapel on the 7th of February— still cannot fail to awaken 
a kindred thrill in the liearts of those readers who arc at all aililiatcd with 
the old Church. 

The immediate origin of the celebration was as follows : During his pas- 
torate of the Church for twelve years, Rev. Mr. Jenkins had become pro- 
foundly impressed with its grandly historic character. Its great local in- 
fluence was apparent enough to all, both before and after it represented the 
religious " standing order " in the Commonwealth ; but it was also the mother 
of churches all over the land, and those who could not ])e strictly classed as 
its daughters had been greatly strengthened and enriched by membershii) 
infu.sed from the First (Umrch of Christ in Pittsfield. Still more notable— 
or at least more exceptional— was the influence which the Church exercised 
in the affairs of the State and Nation through the strong men wlio have been 
its pastors from time to time, and other strong men, who found inspiration 
in, or were strengthened in their convictions and efforts by, the words which 
came from its pulpit and the associations within its borders. No one familiar 
with its history will dispute that, from the days of Parson Allen down, this 
Church has been a power in the land, although it never exercised that power 
directly in its corporate capacity. 

There was also in its traditions much of the (piaint and curioti.>< which went 
to illustrate the changing traits and customs of succes.sivc generations. 

In the year 1864, the hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the (irst 
pastor was celebrated, but it was during the confusion which attended the 



120 

closing years of the civil war, and at a time when there was far less interest 
in local history than has since been awakened ; so that little more than had 
pi'eviously been known was developed. In fact the interest manifested in 
the occasion was far less than its importance merited or that which it would 
probably have excited at almost any other time. Rev. Dr. Todd, at the close of 
his pastorate, gave an interesting but cursory history of the C'hurch in a 
brief sermon ; but it was not possible for him to make any prolonged re- 
search or to enter into details. Afterward the subject was more systemati- 
cally and thoroughly pursued in connection with the history of the town. 
Nevertheless it was apparent that much yet remained to be discovered, 
which might throw light upon the history and clothe the dead past with 
new life ; although few expected the flood of light which actually came 
with the celebration. 

Rev. Mr. Jenkins, therefore, and those of a similar experience and ob- 
servation with whom he consulted, deemed it advisal)le that there should be 
a celel)ration, upon a broad scale, of the 125th anniversary of the founda- 
tion of the Church, for the three-fold purpose of doing honor to the memory 
of the fathers, of bringing into closer relationship those who had succeeded 
or were descended from them, and to obtain and preserve memorials of its 
history whether of record or derived from tradition. 

In accordance with these views Mr. Jenkins, on Sunday, Nov. 11, 1888, 
liriefiy called the attention of his people to the subject and requested them 
to meet on the following evening to consider it. This meeting was not very 
largely attended, but those who did attend became deeply interested. Rev. 
Mr. Jenkins presided, and Henry A. Brewstxir, the clerk of the Church, was 
secretary. It was voted that the anniversary should be fittingly observed 
and the following general committee was appointed to prepare a plan : Rev. 
J. L. Jenkins, William R. Plunkett, Robert W. Adam, Miss Anna Todd 
Paddock, Mrs. James H. Hinsdale, Miss Elizabeth D. Davis, Henry A. 
Brewster. 

At a subsequent meeting it was determined to have the celebration on the 
7th of February, 1889, the exact anniversary of the organization of the 
Church, although it fell during the mos^, unfavorable season of the year ; 
and that, extended as the program was, it should be carried out in a single 
day within the walls of the church and chapel. Some doubts were ex- 
pressed at the time as to the expediency of this arrangement, but in the end 
it proved wise. 

AVhat the plan of the occasion was is indicated by the titles of the sub- 
committees which were appointed as follows : 

ON FINANCES. 

John R. Warriner, Edward S. Francis, Alexander Kennedy, Charles At- 
water, Solomon N. Russell, James W. Hull, Frank W. Dutton. 

ON HISTORICAL PAPERS. 

It was voted to collect all possible information regarding the early history 
of the Church, and the following committee upon historical papers was ap- 
pointed : Henry W. Taft, Rev. J. L. Jenkins, R. W. Adam, James M. 



121 

Barker, E. T. Slocuiii, William L. Adam, II. A. Brewster, Mrs. Ensign II. 
Kellogg, Miss S. W. Hiiniphrej'. 

ON INVITATIONS. 

Ilcv. J. L. Jenkins, Jolui C. West, Georire N. Dutton, Mrs. Tiios. P. Pin- 
gree, Mrs. David A. Clary, Mrs. F. A. Paddock, Miss Maria Warrin(!r, 
Miss Martha A. Peck, Miss Fannj' Colt, Miss Abby M. Campbell, William 
R. Pluiikett, Secretary. 

ON ENTERTAINMENT OF INVITED GUESTS. 

Jabez L. Peck, .lolin T. Power, Dr. Henry Colt, James II. Ilinsdnlc, Miss 
Mary G. Cooley, Mrs. George W. Campbell. 

ON UECEI'TIONS. 

William R. Plunkett, ("hairman ; Arthur A. Mills, II. W. Partridge, 
Mrs. J. T. Power, j\Irs. John F. Allen, :\Irs. Hiram B. Wellington, Miss 
Catherine Pingrce, Mrs. James H. Hinsdale, Miss E. D. Davis. 

ON PREPARATION OF THE CHURCH AND CHAPEL, AND USHEUINCi.. 

I. F. Chesley, Chairman ; Silas II. Pomeroy, .lames Wilson, Mrs. Charles 
Atwater, Miss C. Tucker, Miss E. G. Colt. 

ON MUSIC. 

Prof. A. ]\I. Fletcher and Rev. J. L. Jenkins. 

All these committees served with zeal, fidelity and good judgment ; and 
received cordial and valuable aid from without; the most important ones at 
Icivst achieving success far beyond what there was any rea.son to e.xpect when 
the observance of the anniversary was first determined upon. In what di- 
rection this success lay will appear in our brief account of the daj'. 

THE PRELI.MINARY EXERCISES. 

Although tlie celebration proper was, according to the program, confined 
to Thursday, the sc^enth of February, e.vercises closely akin to it naturally 
took place on the preceding Sunday. Indeed they were so closely allied to 
it that to omit mention of them here would leave the account of it altogether 
incomplete. The Pastor, jirefatory to his historical address which was to 
come on the morning of the 7th, preached an eloquent sermon upon the 
character of the early church. In the evening there was a praise service 
under the direction of the organist and chorister. Prof. Fletcher, at Avhich 
hymns and anthems were sung that were u.sed by the church more than a 
hundred years ago. Among them ''The Dying Christian," by Pope; 
"Arise, Shine," b}' Rev. Edward Coon ; " Send Out Thy Light," by Gou- 
nod ; " Ye shall dwell in the Land," l)y Stainer ; " Sound the loud timbrel," 
by Avison. " There were also," sjiys a (ompetent reporter, " several hymns 
taken from an edition of ' Watts' P.^alms,' published in Boston in 176(i, whicli 
was the first h3mn-l)ook u.sed by the Church. The only copy to be found 
belonged to John Partridge, one of the first choristers of the Church, and it 
bears his name, dated 1767. It contains on the tly-leaf a list of tunes used 
with the hymns ia the hand writing of a brother of the owner, William 
Partridge, who was grandfather of II. W. Partridge, who is now one of the 



122 

deacons of the C'lmrch. The choir iind congregation sang several of tliese 
liymns which were taken from the old book and printed in a pamphlet. 
Some of those sung were : 'Denmark,' 'The Infant Savior,' bj^ Knapj), 
written in 1698 ; ' Greenwich,' by Read, 1757 ; ' Rainbow,' author un- 
known ; ' Norwich,' author unknown ; ' Russia,' by Read, 1757 ; ' Ocean,' 
by Swan, Psalm 100, l)y William France, 1543 ; Psalm 78, by Tauser. The 
words of the hymn, Greenwich, are given below : 

Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was I, 

To mourn and murmur and repine. 
To see the wicked placed on hig:h. 

In pride t*nd robes of houour shine. 

But, O, their end, their dreadful end, 

Thy sanctuary taught me so, 
On slipp'ry rocks 1 see tliem stand, 

And fi'ry billows roll below. 

Now let them boast how tall they rise, 

I'll never envy them again. 
There tb.ey may stand with haughty eyes, 

Till they plunge deep in endless paiil. 

Their fancy'd joys how fast they flee ! 

Just like a dream when man awakes. 
Their songs of softest harmony 

Are but a preface to their plagues. 

Now I esteem their mirth and wine 

Too dear t<i purchase with my blood. 
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine 

My life, my portion and my God. 

This represents as well as any in the list of .selections the Puritanical idea 
of standing on ' slippery places.' " 

Many connected with other churches in town — especially older citizens- 
came in to enjoy the quaint music : and reminiscences of old choristers, from 
the days of Solomon Warriner and Col. Asa Barr down, were indulged in. 
One of the most strikingly illustrative, however, was not told there but came 
in a letter which contained the following : " It does not seem much less than 
n hundred years ago since Col. Barr chanted to the music of bass viol and 
violin the Lord's Prayer. I well remember tliat on tliat occasion my vener- 
ated grandmother, her big grey eyes ablaze with holy wrath, dropped into 
her seat in the family pew exclaiming, " Have I lived to hear the Lord's 
prayer fiddled in this Congregational Church ! " 

Like all the exercises of the celebration this Praise Meeting constantly sug- 
gested the great contrasts between the past and the present, while at the 
same time it seemed to bring the past startlingly near to us. 

THE ANNIVERSARY. 

FEB. 7, 1764— FEB. 7. 1889. 

The celebration proper began appropriately at 10 o'clock on the morning 
of Thur.sday with the Holj' Communion, in which most of the members of 
tlie Church, and man}' others wlio were entitled to participate, joined ; with 
what emotions amid such surroundings may well be imagined. Deacons 
Robinson, Peirson, Shipton and Rice of the South Church and Deacons 
Taft and Partridge of the First Church officiated. 

The peculiar interior architecture of the church renders extraneous oc- 



123 

casioiuil decoration to any maikwl cxlcnl oul of place, Imt gives tl.e best 
elfect to sucl. simple displays iis indicated on this occasion what its nature 
was • b.U even here came another contrast between tlie past and the pres- 
ent which show emphatically the great amelioration of thought and teehng 
in the church as well ii-s the world during the last century ; indeed, in view 
of some local incidents, we might well say within the la-st half century. 
The masses of palms and other tropical plants, relieved here and there 
bv costly exotic llowers. which covered the vicinity of the pulpit, the com- 
munion table, and the organ, were widely different from the fragrant herbs 
which less than a hundred years ago were considered everything ot the kuit 
which was proper for the house of the God whose llowers are silent 
preachers. About the pulpit were placed bronze tablets bearing the names 
of all the pastors who have ministered to the church : Thomas Allen, Wil- 
liam Allen. Thomas Punderson. Heman Humphrey, Rufus \\. Bailey. 
Henry Tappan, John W. Yeomans, Horatio N. Brinsmade, John Todd, Ed- 
ward O. Bartlett, Jonathan L. Jenkins. 

In front of the galleries were oaken shields, bearing the names ot Stephen 
Crofoot Ephraim Stiles, Daniel Hubbard. Aaron Baker, Jacob Ensign. 
William Phelps, Lemuel Phelps, Elnuthan Phelps ; the ''foundation men 
who were organized as the nucleus of the present Church Feb. 7 17G4. 

This was an the extraneous ornamentation, except the dates 1^>4 m winte 
and 1889 in green on the front of the rear gallery ; and it wtus enough, lor it 
was full of iirand memories. . , . 

M 10 '30 A M the pastor took his sea't in the pulpit and continued to pre 
side through all the exercises of the day and evening with the grace and 
spirit which was to be expected from the enthusiastic interest which he took 

"'T^lclKiir opened with the jubilant anthem. "Joy, for the Night is Gone,'' 
thirty voices, under the lead of Prof. Fletcher, joining ,n it. Kev. Prot. 
reor-e E Day of Yale College, a native of this town and a son ot the 
Church read the 84lh Psalm and offered prayer, evidently with much emo- 
tion The choir sang " Heavenly Father, graciously hear us ! " 
^ The historical address of Rev. Dr. Jenkins followed. Printed in full in 
the mecedin-.- pages, it speaks for itself, and needs no characterization here, 
but is the work of a man who dearly loved his theme and spared no pains to 

'^""Thrmoi^ning services closed at 12.30 p. m., and the great congregation re- 
n.ured to the chapel, where a portrait-gallery of past worshippers m the 
Church had been collected, which was. for the day at legist, equal m its at- 
inctiveness to aimost any other feature of the occasion ; but it was a little 
a.side from the general line of the celebration, and we p^iss it f..r the present 
in order to do better justice to it in its own place. 

.\FTEHNOON EXERCISES. 

V vcrv lu-re audience attended the afternoon exercises, which commenced 
..1 '> oClocir Pastor Jenkins happily introduced Rev. Dr. Danker to rc-pre- 
senl St Stephen's parish and the absent Rector, Rev. W. W. Newton, of 
whom Mr Jenkins said, '• I know he is with us in spirit though ab.sent m 



124 

bi)(ly." Dr. Danker brought llif formal congraluhitions of St. Stephen's, 
a])proved by the wardens and vestry, and lie gave his message iu very fitting, 
el(M]uent, hearty words. This was a very pleasing recognition of the pleas- 
ant relations which have so long existed between these neighbor churches, 
and reminded some of the older persons present of the time when the St. 
Stephen's Church, recently demolished, was being remodeled and the First 
Congregational parish freely loaned its chapel for the Ejii.scopal services, and 
received in return the gift of a superb pulpit Bible. 

The reading of the historical papers printed in the body of this volume 
was then begun, and continued at the 

EVENING MEETING. 

Some of these historical papers were from the nature of the sub- 
jects more entertaining than others, but all had an essential bearing upon 
important points in the history of the Church, and some — especially those 
most dry in detail — goto explain its present status and that of the parish, and 
the reasons for it. 

The formal papers were suppkiniented by addresscis of which a phono- 
graphic report is printed, which will be found also full of historic interest as 
well as of genial feeling and reverence for the grand past of the old Church. 

The committee on invitations received more than a hundred and fifty let- 
ters, varying from a simple expression of regret for inability to attend up to 
an historical essay which would cover pages. They show how widely scat- 
tered are the childnm of the Church, and how enduring is their pride in and 
regard for it. They will be carefully preserved in the archives and when- 
ever the time shall come for a more formal history will alTonl nuich mater- 
ial for it. 

In an historical point of view the celebration accomplished more than was 
expected of it. The industrious research of the writers of the historical 
Ijapers was amply rewarded, while from odd nooks in family traditions half 
forgotten facts and spicy anecdotes were drawn out, and some obscure 
points in parochial annals elucidated. It is much that these have been 
l)laced in such form that they are not likely again to lapse into oblivion. 

THE MEMORIAL PORTRAIT-GALLERY. 

A. few weeks before the celebration, some one conceived the novel and 
happy idea of collecting as many as passible of the portraits of the men 
and women who had from time to time been members of the Church or who 
had worshipped with it iu its several meeting-houses. The proposition was 
eagerly adopted. Requests were sent to the families likely to have the de- 
sired pictures, and also published in the local newspapers. Brief as the 
interval was, the response was such as to render the memorial gallery the 
most unicjue feature of the anniversary, and one of the most exciting. Over 
one hundred portraits were contributed and hung upon the walls of the 
chapel, varying from the costly miniature of the era of Parson Allen and 
the cheaper small photograph of later days, to the life-size portraits, of va- 
rying merit as works of art, which illustrated all the periods of the Church 
history. 



125 

Many of the subjects of these portraits luu I been tor years s|)irit-stirrinLC 
iiu'in1)ers of the Cliurcli ; iKjt a few of tliem to such an extent that they 
builded lar!j,e portions of tlieir own lives into it, so tliat they seem still iivinu; 
stones in its walls. Others, as well as some of tliese, were .so zealous and 
^renerous in parochial alTairs, that no dillicidt or costly parochial work can 
be mentioned without bringing their names to memory. Some had been 
for years (luiet but reverent worshippers ; performrng to the letter such 
duties as they deemed to be required of them by religion and socncty. Some 
were but brietly connected with the parish. Others, who received the rudi- 
ments of religious educaticjn in this Church, afterward carried out their les- 
sons in the ditferent denominations into which the growing town came to be 
divided. But more than one instance in the i)resent festival went to prove 
that filial regard for the old church is not inconsistent with loyal allegiance 
to newer bonds any more than tilial alTection for parents weakens the clo.ser 
relations of husl)and and wife. 

A.11 the portraits were of men and women whose earthly life is ended, 
while the floor of the chapel was crowded at such times as it was open, with 
successive throngs of their descendants or successors ; so that there was seen 
what may not improperly be called a great, and in no small degree a homo- 
genous, congregation, composed of many generations all inspired with life ; 
Tor if the painted lips were silent, those who listened to the animated and 
thougiitfid conversation of the living, could not but recognize that it faith- 
fuUy'^interpreted what those lips would have uttered had they, by .some 
mirac'e, been unsealed. The portraits themselves had unsealed tiie foun- 
tains of many memories which do not often flow so freely. It was perhaps 
as much by the remiui.scences, comments, discussions and exi)ressi()ns of 
feeling which the memorial gallery called forth as by its exhibition of pic- 
tures that it was rendered so satisfactory a portion of the celebration ; liut, 
of course the one could not have been produced without the other ; the 
effect without the cause. 

There was some effort to arrange the portraits in family or other groups ; 
circumstances rendered success in this so imperfect that we do not attempt 
to follow it. except in a single instance. 

On the east wall of the room was in conspicuous black letters the text : 
"They rest from their labors ami their toorks dofolloir them." 

Below this motto was the clerical group of portraits representing tiie flrst 
pastor, Kev. Thomas Allen ; his son and successor, Rev. William Allen, 
D. D.' Rev. Dr.'Hcman Humphrey, the great pacificator ; Rev. Flenry P. 
Tappan, Rev. Dr. John Todd, and Rev. Dr. Stephen West, of Stockbridge, 
one of the clergymen who took part in the organization of the Pittsfleld 
Church, Rev. Joab Brace, D D.. the father-in-law of Rev. Dr. Todd. 

The portrait of Parson Allen does not at all give one's preconceived 
idea of him a.s the stern. uncompron\ising. combative. Revolutionary 
leader and hero. He ai)pears here rather as the man of scholarly and relined 
thought, and of a gentle manner. And such, a lady who remembered him 
wellln his later years, when she was a child, described iiim a few years ago : 
a man of tall ami graceful figure, very benignant in Ids aspect to ciiildren, 



126 

of extreme politeuess to all, with a clear eoraplexioiied well shaven face, 
and a beaming, kindly eye as it appeared to her young view, although it 
doubtless showed determination enough in the many circumstances under 
which the utmost determination was required of Berkshire's Revolutionary 
leader. His is not the lirst instance in which tenderness and stern devotion 
to right have been combined in the same heart. 

The portrait of Rev. Dr. Alien, near the end of his life, if correctly 
drawn — in this case it was an engraving — would be remarkable. His life 
had been contentious as well as scholarly, in an eminent degree ; but when 
he appeared in Tremont Temple, at Boston, with other gentlemen who had 
visited Europe as delegates from the American Peace Society to the Courts 
of Europe, he was pronounced the most grandly venerable looking man in 
New England, although his mass of snow white hair fell over features 
which showed no signs of physical weakness. 

Rev. Dr. Humphrey had a noble face for a portrait, full of lines every 
one of which was the record of deep thought and energetic contlict. They 
had been traced deeply, not so nuich by the hand of time as by the mind 
which lay Ijehind them. Rev. Dr. Todd's portrait is also full of character ; 
but, although doubtless modified by the experience of a not altogether rest- 
ful life, the lines there seem to have been those originally impressed by na- 
ture, whom he rather followed than resisted. 

Strictly speaking, the portrait of Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins, the tirst 
pastor of Great Barrington, should have been in this group, as he wrote the 
creed and covenant under profession of which the Pittsfield Church was or- 
ganized, and preached the sermon on the occasion ; but it was, for some 
reason, placed in another part of the room. Dr. Hopkins was the tirst 
great American opponent and denouncer of slavery, he was the originator 
of the Stockbridge Indian Mission, and the hero of Mrs. Harriet Beecher 
Stowe's novel, "The Minister's Wooing;" but it is more to our present 
purpose to know that he was the author of a new system of theology — The 
Hopkiusonian — some traces of which he doubtless left in the fundamental 
constitution of the churches of Pittsfield, Lee and Lenox, which were nearly, 
if not quite, identical in their tenor. The portrait of Dr. Hopkins, a rather 
peculiar one, was surrounded by intelligent observers during the exhibition; 
but more interest would have been taken in it, if the.se facts had be(*n more 
generall}' known. 

We give below a catalogue as nearly complete as we can make it, of those 
whose portraits were contributed, with the dates of their birth and death. 
In some instances we should have been glad to give some other facts, but 
find it quite impracticable. 

HORN. DIED. 

Abigail S. Bacon 1775 1861 

Ezekicl Bacon 1776 1870 

William J. Hawkins 18B6 1878 

JabezPeck, 1781 1867 

George Brown, 1807 1874 

Fanny S. Pomeroy, 1814 1851 

Mary Kilbourn, (Mrs. Henry Clinton Brown,) 1788 1876 



127 

Elijuli Peck, 1790 1870 

Solomon Wilson 1819 1882 

John (;. Parkc;r 1822 1881 

Ensign H. Kellogg 1812 1882 

Eli/ii Taylor, . . / 1805 1883 

j\Iiss Sophia Churchill Parker, 1792 1872 

Linus Parker, 1790 1872 

Elizabeth Granger 1785 1888 

Clara Wells 1820 1873 

:\rary Dewey Foot 1833 1873 

Henry Hubbard, 1783 1863 

Erastus Dewey. 1789 1865 

Samuel Root, 1769 1856 

Mrs. Curtis T. Fenn, 1798 1878 

.lames Ginn, 1802 1885 

.Afrs. Mary F. Ginn 1804 1882 

iAIatihla M. Dewey 1795 1865 

Mrs. Oliver P. Diekinson 1766 1847 

Mrs. John Chandler Williams,. (Lucretia.) 1753 1834 

Gen. Nathan Willis 1763 1851 

Mrs. Lucy Willis 1774 1860 

Solomon L. Russell, 1791 1882 

]\rrs. S. William Russell 

Austin W. Kellogg, 1820 1885 

James D. Colt, 2d 1768 1S56 

Jam(!s D. Colt, 3d 1797 1822 

James D. Colt, 4th, 1819 1881 

Henry Colt, 1812 1S8S 

Sarah Root Colt 1771 1865 

Ezekiel Root Colt 1794 1860 

Tlioma.s Colt 1823 1876 

Electa Campbell Colt 1 793 1875 

Lucy Latlin Campbell, 1763 1852 

Mrs. Robert Colt 1815 1876 

(Jeorge Campbell 1811 1878 

Alatilda Jenkins ( 'ampbell, 1814 1882 

Nannie Campbell Harding 1839 1874 

Ja.son Clapp, 1782 1868 

Edwin Clapp, 1809 1884 

Elizabeth Campbell Clapp, 1796 1881 

Thaddeus (Happ, 1792 1865 

Richard Colt Cogswell 1787 1861 

Electa Lawrence Cogswell 1785 1861 

-Mary Stiles 1777 1S45 

Mrs. Mary S. Manning 1824 1886 

William Hubbard,.... 1801 186s 

-Marv Warner Hubl)ard 1807 1887 



128 



John Dickinson 1769 1855 

Hannah Fairfield, 1768 1856 

John Partridge, 1804 1870 

Dr. Oliver S. Root, 1799 1870 

Electa Goodrich, 1794 1888 

James Francis, 1797 1885 

Jacob Phelps 1780 

Eleanor Phelps 1774 

Charlotte M. Francis Churchill 1805 1883 

Charles Churchill 1796 1881 

Jesse Goodrich, 

Mrs. Mercy Partrida;e Whitney, 179ri 1872 

Chester Hemenway 1809 1887 

Mrs. John Partridge, .1815 1875 

William B. Cooley, 1800 1870 

Dr. Charles Drake Mills, 1827 1878 

Graham A. Root 1820 1880 

Dr. Oliver E. Brewster, 1816 1866 

Dr. John M. Brewster, 1789 1869 

Mary Hull, 1840 1857 

Abel West 1780 1871 

Thomas Barnard Strong, 1780 1863 

Matilda Thompson. (Mrs. Abel West,) 1782 1866 

Levi Goodrich, (2 pictures) 1785 1868 

Mrs. Josiah Goodrich, 1752 

Lucinda Dickinson Strong 1786 1888 

Mrs. Jarcd Ingersoll. . .' 1789 1851 

Jared Ingersoll, 1786 1871 

Phillips Merrill, 1790 1873 

Frances A. Stanton Merrill, 1794 1867 

Capt. Rosea Merrill 1761 1853 

Sarah Phillips 1763 1850 

Nancy Hinsdale, 1769 1851 

Thomas F. Plunkett, 1804 1875 

Henry Root, 1784 1863 

Clarissa Bagg 

Washington Root, 1820 1884 

Tliankf ul Root 1785 1865 

Julius Rockwell, 1804 1888 

Calvin Martin, 1787 1867 

James Buel 1784 1874 

Mrs. Hannah Clark, 1772 1856 

S. L. Russell 1791 1882 

Mrs Agnes Center Buel, 1784 1864 

Major Butler Goodrich 1768 1863 

Jabez W. Fairbanks 1804 1872 

Mrs. Julia Brattle Bnrbank, 1798 1888 



.Mrs. Muri.-i IJialtlc Clark isyo 1887 

Charlos HuUirrt, 1824 1873 

Cmtis T. Fciiii 1792 1871 

Tlioiiias Taylor 1792 187.1 

Dr. Henry II. Cliilds 178:5 1868 

Pliinohas Allen 177(5 1868 

Henry Cliickerin-; 18U» 18S1 

Capt. F. W. Peiisf 1822 1864 

Samuel D. Clolt, 1779 ISG^ 

Luey B. Colt 1777 1850 

Zeno Russell 1834 1881 

Jonathan Allen 1773 1845 

Mrs. Eunice Williams Larned 1792 1868 

Mrs. Elizabeth White 1775 1798 

Thomas Allen, 1813 1887 

Rev. Dr. Brace, 1777 1857 

Mrs. Heman Humphrey 1785 1868 

Lemuel Pomeroy, 1775 1849 

Mrs. Lemuel Pomeroy. (Hart.) 1780 1853 

Theo. Pomeroy 1813 18S1 

Phineha-s Allen, 2«l, 1S07 1872 

Robert Colt 1807 1864 

KKLICS OF TIIK I'.VST. 

In aildilion to tlic portraits, there were in tlu; chapel several interestinfr 
relics of the old time. There were a .score of chairs in which once sat 
men and women now held in reverential memor}- ; among them one 
•which stood in one of the old square pews in 1808 : a style of pews wliicli 
prevailed long after that date. There was the wreck of an old bass 
viol which was played in 1836 bj' Daniel Merriam, when the opponents of 
innovation in the mu.sic of public worship nick-named it, "The Lord's bite 
tiddle." There was a fragment of the carpet ujion whicli LaFayette stood 
on tiie 15tli of June, 1825, when in the old church, — now M.-ijilcwood (Jym- 
nasium. — he wa.s received by the authorities and people of Berkshire, and 
said some very handsome things in return, especially in regard to the beauty 
of Pittsfield women ; which it was very much like tlie gallant Frenchman 
to say. 

But tlie relic most closely connected with the occasion and al.so otherwise 
of great value, was the carved oaken chest once the property of Deacon 
Daniel Hubbard, one of the "foundation men" of the church. It was 
brought from England by one of his ancestors. He, himself, brought it to 
Pittsfield, and dining the last P^rench and Indian war — 1754-1761 — it was 
often filled with the f.imily valuables, and deposited in one of the four 
Pittsfield forts. This fort stood on what is now the Buckingham place, on 
the southwest shore of htikv Onot.a, and w.-is very near to Deacon Hubbard's 
"home-lot" or farm. The chest luvs ever since continued in the family, be- 
ing now the property of Deacon Hubbard's grand-daughters in the sixth 
generation, Mrs. C. E. Burfitt, and the Mis-ses C. W. and Leila Bull, of Pitts- 



130 

field. The Hubbard family Bible is still preserved, and it was hoped to 
have it for the memorial collection, but it did not arrive in season. This 
exhibit and the presence of its owners, perhaps brought those wiio wit- 
nessed it nearer to the foundation of the Church than any other. The near- 
est living descendant of any of the foundation members is, however. Miss 
Amanda Baker, the grand-daughter of Aaron Baker, who resides on the 
homestead in Barkersville. 

Amid surroundings such as we have attempted above to describe, or to 
give some faint idea of, the ladies of the C!liurch, on the evening of the 7th 
invited their friends to an entertainment in which food for the palate was as 
abundant and tempting as was that for conversation. At the request of 
many wiio, in the hurried hours of anniversary day, could not find time to 
study and muse over the memorial exhibition as they desired, it was con- 
tinued through Friday. 

And thus closed an anniversary observance, which it is hoj)e(l will take 
honorable rank among the many which, after furnishing days of rare ra- 
tional pleasure to thou.sands, have contributed largely toward developing 
and making more widelj^ known what is great and good in the annals of 
Pittslield. 



INDEX, 



Adam. Kuiiekt VV., Tin' Ei^'lit F.iiiiKlalioii 

Men, 17. 
Aduui, Robert VV., (iG, 1:^0. 
Adam, William L., Cliuirli liuildiims ami 

Ful■nitu^(^ ^4. 
Adam, William L., 1^1. 
Adams, J/<.w Lydia, '.14. 
Alien, Miv. Eunice Williams, 38. 
Allen, (Jeoi-jre Wasliiiifrton, 13. 
Allen, Mrs. .lolm F., lai. 
Allen, Deacua I'liinelias, 3."), ^y^, 50, 8.5, I::.".!. 
Allen, Pliinelias, tn/L, la'J. 
Allen, Jonatlian, 38, la!). 
Allen, liev. Samuel, GO. 
Allen, liev. Thomas, 3, 5 lo, 1:,', 13, -^l, :.'3, 

au, 27, 3>, ra. C8, 71, 75, 118, l'.J3, 125, lx,'9. 
Allen, Jiev. William, 14, (il, 71, 123, 125. 
Amherst Collef,'e, 102, 112. 
Appendix, J. K. A. Smith, 11!». 
Architects, 2!). 37. 
Ashley, liev. .Jonathan, 10. 
Atwater, Charl(!S, 120. 
Atwater, Mrs. Charles, 121. 

B 

Backus, Alisalom. .50. 

iiacon, Al)i«ail (Mr.^. K/.eklel). 12lj. 

Baeon, Ezekiel, ]2(i. 

Basg, Clarissa, 12is. 

Bailey, Ji'ei;. Rufus William, 14, 71, 113, 123. 

Baker, Aaron, 5, 0, 7, 17, 21, 12;J, 130. 

Baker, MUs- Amanda, 21, ViO. 

Ballard, IIahlan II., Parson Allen's 
Shorthand, 7(J. 

Baptists, 43, 4(1. 

Barker, Hon. James M., Historical Rela- 
tions of Church to Town and Parish, 3!). 

Barker, Jlon. James M , 121. 

Barker, J. V. & Bro., 57. 

Barnard, Richard, .5(1. 

Barr, Colonel, 33, 122. 

Bartlett, Kev. E. ()., Address, 108. 

Bartlett, liev. K. O., 12.3. 

Beckct, Church of, 3. 

Bells, 30. 

Berkshire and Columbia Missionary So- 
ciety, 58. 

Bible, presented by American Committee 
of Revision, ;i4. 

Bible, presented by St. Stephen's Church, 
34. 

Bidwell, /l>v. .\fr.. 10. 

Bissell, J/j.s>-. Amelia, 00. 

Bissell, JAuion Josiah, 53, 01, 02. 

Bolton, Arclielaus, 88. 

Bowl of Silver, 35. 

Brace, Ji'er. Joab, 125, 12!l. 

Brattle, jV(as- Julia, (>7, 00. 

Biewster, Henry A.. CO, 120. 121. 

Brewster, J>r. John M., 128. 

Brewster, l/r. Oliver E., 12N. 



Briusmade, Ilev. H. N., 14, 113, 123. 

Brooks, Peubeii, 50. 

Brown, (;eor;ie, 120. 

Brown, Ma.jor Henry C, 0.5, 88. 

Brown, J//-.V. Henry Clinton, 120. 

Brown, Colonel ^ohw, 117. 

Brown, Mii<s Mary, 00. 

Buell, Mrs. A^cnes Center, 128. 

Buell, James, .50, 87, 128. 

BuiLDiN(i THE First Church, John C. 

West, 54. 
BiiLDiNos AND FURNITURE, William L. 

Adam, 2^1. 
Bultiiicli, Charles, 20. 
Bull, .l/;.s.? C. W., 120. 
Bull. Miss Leila, 120. 
liurhank, Abraham, .53. 
Burbank. Mrs., !H), 128. 
Burfitt, Mrs. C. E., 120. 
Burnap, Gains C, 00. 
Burt, Seaborn, 50. 
Bushnell, Rev. Horace, 10. 



Cadwell, Royal D., 50. 

Cadwell, Timothy, .50. 

Cadwell, William, .50. 

Campbell, Miss Abby M., 121. 

Campbell, Miss Betsev, 04. !X). 

Campbell, David, 37, f 0, 57, 87. 

Campbell, George, 127. 

Campbell, George W., 37, 55, .57. 

Campbell, Mrs. George W., 121. 

Campbell, Lucy Lalliii, 127. 

Campbell, JIatilda Jenkins, 127. 

Campbell, Dr. Robert, 30, 00. 

Campbell, Richard, 50. 

Campbell, Winihrop, iK). 

Carter, President Franklin, Address, 

111. 
Case. Eliphalet, :*). 
Catalogue of portraits exhibited at the 

Anniversary Celebration, 1880, 120. 
Carver, Mrs. Calvin, 20. 
Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of 

First Church, J. E. A. Smith, 119. 
Center, Ebenezer, 50. 
Chapel, 38. 

Chaimian, Daniel, 50, 00. 
Chapman, Ichabod, 01, 02. 
Chapman, Mrs.. 84. 
Charities, George N. Dutton, .58. 
Chesley, I. F. 121. 
Chiekering, Henrv, 00, 120. 
Childs, Dr. Henry H., 120. 
Childs, Jonathan, .50. 
Childs, Miss Mary, 04. 
Childs, Itachel, H7. 
Childs, Colonel Thomas, 87. 
Childs, Dr. Timothy, 2!i, 71, 85, 87. 
Childs, .Mrs. Tiinotliy, 01,8-1. 
Churehill, Charles, 12S. 
Churchill, Charkittc M. Francis, 128. 



132 



ChurchUl, John, 31, 50, 115. 

Clapp, Mr-n. Betsey, 57. 

Clapp, Edwin, Tyi, 127. 

Clapp, Elizabeth Canipljell, 127. 

Clapp, Jason, 37, 50, 50, 85, 127. 

Clapp, Mi's. Jasou, 37, 8(). 

Clapp, Thaddeus, 127. 

Clapp, Mrs. Thaddeus, 37. 

Clarli, Mrs. Hannah, 12H. 

Clark, Jemima, 21. 

Clark, 3Irs. Maria Brattle, 12'.J. 

Clark, Nathan, 50. 

Clark, Jlev. Mr., 5. 

Clark, Yale, 05. 

Clary, Mrs. David A., 121. 

Clock, 36. 

Cogswell, Electa Lawrence, 127. 

Cogswell, Mrs., 84. 

Cog.swell, Richard Colt. 127. 

Collins, Ambrose, 50. 

Collins, Daniel, 5. 

Colt, Electa Campbell, 127. 

Colt, MissE. U.,121. 

Colt, Ezekiel Hoot, 57, 85, 127. 

Colt, Miss Fanny, 121. 

Colt, Henry. 57, 121, 127. 

Colt, James D.. 50, 127. 

Colt, Lucy B., 12'J. 

Colt, Mrs. Kobert, 127. 

Colt, Samuel D., 50, 8!), ]2'J. 

Colt, Sarah Hoot, 127. 

Colt, William W., 50. 

Colton, Ezra, 50. 

Communion .'Service, 35, 8(>. 

Cooke, Mrs. Hose Terry, '.»!). 

Coolev, Miss Mary G.,'l21. 

Coolcy, William B., 57, 128. 

Confession of Faith, 6. 

Coral Workers, b2. 

Covenant of First Church, 8. 

Creed of the First Church, 6. 

Crocker, John K., 52. 

Crowfoot (Crofoot, or Crofut), Daniel, 51, 

53, 90. 
Croioor, Stephen, .5, 0, 7, 10, 17. 18, lit, 20, 

25, 20, 34, '.II, 92, 123. 
Crofoot, Mrs. 07, 92, 93. 
Crowfoot, Simeon, 77, 78, 81, 84. 



D 



Danforth, Mi.-<s Harriet, 01. 

Oanforth. .loslma. 09. 

Daufortl), IhP. J. N., 73. 

Danfoith. Salome. 97. 

Danker, Dr. Albert, 123. 

Davis, Miss Elizabeth D., 120, 121. 

Davis, Henry G., 52, 00. 

Day, Rev. (ieorge E., 34, 123. 

Deming (misprinted Dunning), 12. 

Dewey, Erastus, 127. 

Dewey, Matilda M.. 127. 

Dexter, Natlianiel, .50. 

Dickinson, Israel, 12. 

Dickinson, John, 128. 

Dickinson, Mrs., 29, 127. 

Dillingham, John, 05. 

Division in the Church, 13, 40, 60, 69. 

Drake, Frederick, 50. 

Dunham, Miss Helen, '47. 

Dunham, James H., Missionaries from the 

First Church, 90. 
Dunham, Deacon James II., 37. 63, 64, 00. 
Dunham, Mrs., 84. 
Dunning (Deming), Solomon, 12. 
Durwin, Ahinson, .50. 
Durwin, Ephraim, 50. 



Dutton, Frank W., 120. 
DuTTON, George N., Charities and Chari- 
table Organizations, 58. 
Dutton, George N., 06, 121. 
D wight, Henry W., 66. 

E 

P^aston, Col. James, 11. 

Education Society, 58. 

Edwards, Thankful, 22. 

Eells. Kdward, 50. 

Eidlitz, Leopold, 37, 56. 

Ely, Elisha, 50. 

Ensign, Charles L., 20. 

Ensign, Jacob, 5, 0, 7, 8, 17, 19, 21, 123. 

Ensign, John, 19. 

Episcopalians, 43. 40, 88, 112, 123. 

F 

Fairbanks, Jaltez W., 32, 128. 

Fairfield, Enoch, 50. 

Fairfield, Hannah, 128. 

Fairfield, John, 50. 

Fairfield, Joseph, .''O. 

Fairfield, Natlianiel, 12, 50. 

Fenn, Curtis T., 129. 

Fenn, Mrs. Curtis T., 61, 127. 

Fires, 33. 

Fii'St Meeting-House (Interior), 27. 

Fletcher. Prof. A. M., 121, 123. 

Foot, Mary liewey, 127. 

Fo-UMER Days, Mrs. H. M. Pluukett, 84. 

Foster, Joel, 91. 

" Foundation-Men," 5, 0. 7, 9, 17. 

Fowler, Stephen, 29, .50, 71. 

Fowler, Wells, 50. 

Francis, Edward S., 120. 

Francis, Family, 21. 

Fuancis, Deacon James, Address, 22. 

Francis, Deacon .James, 32, 115, 128. 

Francis, Vuptain William, 115, 110, 117. 

Frazer, Kate, 90. 

Freeman, Isaac, 50. 

Free-Will Society, (il. 

Funeral of Dr. Todd, 106. 

(; 

Garnsey, Rev. Ebenezer, 5. 

Ginn, James, 127 

Giun, Mary F., 127. 

Gold, Mi^s Martha, 88. 

Gtild, Thomas, 50, 88, 90. 

G(jld, Mrs. Thomas, 61. 

Goodale, Isaac, .50. 

Goodman, Deacon Titus, 50, 85. 

Goodman, Mrs. Titus, 84. 

Goodrich, Major Butler, 128. 

Goodrich. Charles, 12, 25, 29, 34, 36, 50. 69, 

92, 96. 
Goodrich, Electa, 128. 
Goodrich, Mrs. Josiah, 128. 
Goodrich, Levi, 38. 55, .5(;, 85, 90, 128. 
Granger, Elizabeth, 127. 
(Jreat Barrington, Church of, 3. 



H 



Hache-no-so St)ciety, 62. 
Harding, Hope, 38. 
Harding, Malcom, 38. 
Harding, Mrs. Nancy Campbell, 38. 127. 
Hard IN u, William G., The Sunday- 
School, 63. 



Ilunlin;;, Williiuii (i., ■'iH, 04, 00. 
Uiiskrll, l{illlicll,.'JO. 

Haskell, 'riiHulliy, M. 
ll:istin};s, Tlioiiias, 71,90. 
Hawkins, William .1., I'JO. 
llaydfii, Moses, Jr., 50. 
UeiiuMiway, Chester, lAS. 
llerriek, -JJosia, 94. 
IliLL, Kkv. Chaules .7., Address, 10.5. 
Hinsdale, Jaines H., 121. 
Hinsdale, Mrx. James 11., 120, 121. 
Hinsdale, Nancy, 128. 
Hinsdale, Tlieodurc, Jr., 50. 

HlSTORICAI- HEhATIONSOKCnlltCllToToWN 

AND I'AUisn, //"«. James M. Barker, 39. 
lioadly, Jolin ('., 5(j. 
HoUister, Aiirelia, 90. 
Uollister, William, ,50, 87. 
Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, tSO. 
Hooker, Rev. Mr., 10. 
Hoose, Harry, 89. 
Hoose, Sally, 90. 
Hopkins, Daniel, 5. 
Hopkins, Mark, JJ. 1)., 100. 
Hupkius, Her. Samuel, 0, 8, 9, 10, 12(i. 
Howard, Eliza, 97. 
Howard, Welcome S., 97. 
Hubbard, I)ani<-1, 5, (i, 7, 8, 17, 20, 123, 129. 
Hubbard, lion, ll.iuy, 127. 
Hubl)ard, Ikiicun James, 115, 118. 
Hubbard, ./U/--. James, entertains Indians, 

117. 
Hubbard, Lieut. James, 81. 
Hubbard, Mary Warner, 127. 
Hubbard, Paul, 20. 
Hubbard, William, 127. 
Hulbert, Charles, 129. 
Hulbert, Hun. Jolm W., 50. 
Hull, James W., 120. 
Hull, Mary, 128. 
Ilumphrev, Edward, 04. 
Humphrey. Dr. Heman, 01, 03, 09, 71. 85, 

90, 102, 112. 123, 125, 120. 
Humijhn y, ^//■.^■. Heman, 129. 
lluiiiphrcy, James, 04. 
Ihiinphivy, Mj.w S. W., 121. 
lluii«err<ir(l, Isaiah. 50. 
lluutin^iloii, litr. Enoeh, 5. 
Hyde. Ittc.Dr.,'^. 

I 

Indians, 11.5. IIG. 

InjJ:ersoll, 6'«/><«i» Jared. 29, 128. 

In^crsoll, Mw.v Nancy, 05, 93. 94, 128. 

In(iuiry-;Meetiu(rs, 91. 

Ives, Miss Abigail, 87. 



James, Daniel, 50. 
James, Henry, 50. 
Janes, C'ulund, 71. 
Jknkins, Hkv. Jonathan L.. Introductory 

Address, 3. 
Jenkins, Jlev. Jonathan L., 120, 121, 123. 
Jemiiuffs, Catherine, 98. 
Johnson, Kuf\is, .50. 
Jones, Senjeant, 20. 



KELLocio, Mi;s. ('. L., Taper, Old I'sages 

and Prominent Professors, 87. 
Kellout;, Mrs. C. \.., 121. 
Kelhiw, Hon. E. H., .55, 57, 12;-. 
Kennedy, .\U'.\ander, 120. 
Kent, Heii.jamin, .50. 
Key to Parson Allen's Shorthand, 80. 
Kilbourn, Mary, 120. 
KittredKe, William, 50. 



Ladies' Beiu'volent Society, 01. 

Ladies" Prayer-Meetiiif;, 01. 

La Fayette, 129. 

Lamed, Eunice Williams, 129. 

Earned, (iiloin I ^'uuitw, Ti. 

Earned, Mi.'<. Simon, 01. 

Earned, Sylvester, 72. 

Laws, Early, of Massachusetts regarding 

ChiU'clies, etc., 40. 
Lecture Koom, 32. 
Little, Woodbridge, 12, .50, 51, t8. 
Luce, lien jamiii, 50. 
Luce, Jashub U., 50. 
Lyman, Emma, JW. 



Keelcr, Benjamin, 50 
Keeler, Joscpli. .50. 
Keller (Keeler), Klias, .50. 
Kellogg, Austin W., 127. 



M 



Manning P'amily, 21. 
Maiming, Al/-.v. Mary S., 127. 
MAiajUANX), Henky, Address, 99. 
Maniuand, Mrs. Henry G., 38. 
Marsh, Dwiglit Whitney, 97. 
Martin, lite. Ebenezer, 0, 9. 
Martin, Calvin, 51, 52, 04. 85, 89, 128. 
Mason, Cyrus, 93 
Maynard, Ihacon Eli, 34, 90. 
Mcivav, (iordon, .54, 55, 57. 
MeKav. Samuel M., 51, 52. 
Mead, Stephen, .50. 
Mead, Ephraim, 50. 
Memorial Society, 62. 
Merriman, A//-., 37, 71. 
Merriam, Daniel, 129. 
Merrick, Joseph, 71. 
Merrill, Frances A. Slanton, 128. 
Merrill, (V//y<ai« Hosea, 128. 
Mi'rrill, Pliillii)s, 128. 
Mi rritt, Joseiih, 50 

Miller, William (Second Advenli''l) , 22. 
Mills, Arthur A., 121. 
Mills, Dr. ChaHes Drake, 128. 
MiNisTEKiAL FuNU, William K. Pluukett, 
51. 

MiSSIONAHIES KUOM THE FlRST CHURCU, 

Deacon Janu's H. Dunham, 96. 
Mi>si(inarv Societies, .")8, 02. 
.Muselv, Mr. Thomas (5.5. 
Mother, The New England, 100. 
Music, 90, 121. 



N 



Neii.i., I'Kof. II. IIimpuhky, .Xildrcs. HM. 
Newell, .\aron, '^\. 
Newell, Benjamin, So. 
" New .Measures," 91. 
Newton, Edward A., 64, 89, 113. 
Newton, Miss Elizabeth S., 28. 

o 

old Elm, 28. 

Old I'sAiiEs and Pkominknt Professors, 
Paper by Mrs. C. L. Kellogg. 



134 



Ordination of First Pastor, 10. 
Organs, 30, 57'. 

Organization of tiie Cliurch, 3. 
O'SuIlivan. Mary L., 36. 



Padducli. Mrt:. Anna Todd, 66, 120, 131. 

Parker, -John C, 137. 

Pariiur, Misx Sophia Churchill, 123. 

Parlier, Linus, 137. 

Parson Allen's Suokthanu, Ilarhui H. 
Balhird. 77. 

Parsonage, 53. 

Parsons, El)enezer, 98. 

Parsons, Justin, 98. 

Partridge, 11. W., 131, 123. 

I'artridge, Miss m. 

Partridge, -lolm, 131, 138. 

Partridge, Miv. John, 138. 

I'artridgi^ William, 50, 131. 

Pease, Cuplalu r'. W., 139. 

Peck, Eli.jah, 137. 

Peck, Henry, 50. 

Peck, Israel, 50. 

Peck, J & E., 57. 

Peck, Jabez L., 60, 121, 130. 

Peck, Miss Martha A., 131. 

Peirson, Deacon Henry M., 133. 

Pepiion, Daniel, 50. 

PlK'lps. /'/on-.-sor Austin, 23. 

Phelps, Kleaiior, 138. 

Phelps, Kliz.ihelh Stuart, 23. 

Phelps. Elnalhan, ij, 6, 7, 8, 17, 23, 133. 

Phelps. Jacob, 138. 

Phelps. Lemuel, .5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 23, 123. 

Plielps, William, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 22, 133. 

Phillips, Sarah, 138. 

Pingree, Mi.<:s Catherine, 131. 

piniiree, BIrs. Thomas 1'., 131. 

pittstield, Settlement of, 3. 

Pittstield, Vt., 4, 43. 

Plunkett, Mj{S. H. M., Former Days, 84. 

Plunkett, Thomas F., 55, 57, 138. 

Plunkett, William K , The Congrega- 
tional Ministeiial Fund. 51. 

Plunkett, William R., 53, 67, 120, 131. 

Poll-Parishes. 44. 

Pomeroy, Fanny S., 136. 

Pt)meroy, Lemuel, 50, .57, 85. 88, 129. 

Pomeroy, Mra. Lemuel, 61, 129. 

Pomeroy, Misx Olivia, 64. 

Pomeroy, Theodore, 129. 

Pomeroy, Quintus, 50. 

Pomeroy, Silas H., 121. 

Poutoosuck (Pontoosuc, or Poontoosuck), 
3, 35, 41, 42. 

Portrait-Gallery, 124, 126. 

Power, John T., 121. 

Power, M/w. John T., 121. 

Prayer for Church and Town, (Poem), 
Captain Morris Schaff, 2. 

Prayer-Meetings, 91. 

Puuderson, Jler. Thomas, 133. 



Quakers, 43, 46. 
Quincy, Josiah, 



Kedfield, MUs, 18. 
Kced, Zebulon, 50. 
Kelics, 139. 
Revivals, 91. 



Q 



R 



Rice, Deacon, 133. 

Robinson, Deacon. 133. 

Rockwell, Hon. Julius, 55, .57. 128. 

Koot, Abner, 50. 

Root, Graham A , 138. 

Root, Henry, 138. 

Root, John B., 90. 

Root, Josiah, 50. 

Root, Moses, ,50. 

Root. C6itort«/ Oliver, 115, 116, 117. 

Root, ///•. Oliver S., 138. 

Root, Samuel, 127. 

Root, Thankful, 128. 

Root, Waslnngton, 128. 

Rowland, Jtir. Dr., 9. 

Russell, Solomon L., «5, 137, 138. 

Russell, SoloiiKm N., 130. 

Russell, Mrs. S. William, 127. 

Rus,sell, Zeno, 139. 



''Sabbath-School Association" of Pitts- 
field, 63. 

Sackett, Cnplain Daniel, 115. 

Sackett, Erastus, 50. 

St. Stephen's Church, 34, 61, 133. 

Salary of early Ministers, 43 

Sanford, John, 50. 

Scuaff, Captain Morris, 'Poem), Prayer 
for Church and Town, 3. 

S(-holtieId, Arthur, 50. 

Sears, Calvin, 50. 

Selvey, Thomas, .50. 

Severance, Jemima, 94. 

Shearer, Joseph, 36, 51, 53. 

Shipton, Deacon. 133. 

Shumway, Rufus, .50. 

Slooum, Edward T., 66, 131. 

Slocum, Mrs. Harriet Palmer, 66. 

Smith, Itev. Cotton Mather, 4. 

Smith, J. E. A., Report of the Celebration 
of the 125th Anniversary of First Church, 
119. 

Smith, Joseph E. A., 18. 

Smith, Milo, 50. 

Snyder, La'titia, 76. 

Stearns, Deacon Daniel, 22. 

Stiles, Ephraim, 5. 6, 7, 8, 17, 19, 30. 50, 133. 

Stiles, Ezra, {President of Yule CoUerje), 30. 

Stiles, Mary, 137. 

Stiles, Zebediah, 50. 

Stiles, /.■liulon. 39. 

Stockbridue, Church of. 3. 

Stoddai-d. Israel, 12. 

Stoddard. i>//>., 29. 

Strong-, Ashliel, 50. 58. 

Strong, Luehida- Dickinson, 138. 

Strong, ^//■•^•., 35, 61. 

Strong, Jieo Thomas, 10. 

Strong, Thomas B., .50, 51, 53, 138. 

Sunday-School, William G. Ilarding, 63. 



T 



Taft, Henry W., 18, 120, 122. 

Tappan, liev. Henry P., 14, 64, 70, 71. 123. 

125. 
Taylor, Eliza, 127. 
Taylor, Henry, 50. 
Taylor, Lucy, 97. 
Taylor, Deacon Thomas, 97, 129. 
Thompson, Matilda, 128. 
Todd, Mrs. John, 15. 
Todd, Dr. John, 15, 31, 32, 34, 35, 54. 60, 71, 

89, 95, 105, 106, 113, 123, 125, 136. 



Tompson, Tifv. Amos, 5. 
Tnadwell, Prentice. 3H. 
Treniain, Nathaniel, 50. 
Tucker, Miss t'aroline, Vi\. 

u 

I'nion Parish, 32, 40, 50, 51. 

V 

Van Schaack, Ilonry. 11^. 
Varney. John. 37. 

W 

Ward, Isaac, 50. 
Warren, Di\ .lames, G3. 
Warrinor. .fames, 90. 
Warriner, .Jeremy, 50. 
Warriiier..Inhii li., 52, 67, 120. 
Warriner, Tiyman, !H). 
Warriner, Miss Maria, 121. 
Warriner, Kalpli, 50. 
Warriner, Solomon. 132. 
Watson, Elkanali.50. 
Wcl)ster, Daniel, Si). 
Weller, Mr. H5. 

Wellington, Mrs. Hiram I?., 121. 
Wells, Cl;ira. 127. 
Wendell, Oliver, 35. 
West, Abel, 128. 
West, Charles E.. Paper. C8. 
West, Frederick T., 60. 
West, Gilbert. 07. 
West, Ira, i50. 

West, .Toiin C, A Few Facts concerning 
the Buildiiif,' of the First Church, 54. 



West. .John C...30, .38, 121. 
Weston, .lonallian, .50. 
West, R,v. Stephen. 0, 0. 125. 
Weston, .lames, "Tlie Complcat Stenog- 
rapher. " 81. 
Wetmore, J>r. Charles II., 97. 
Wilbur, William, 50. 
Willard. Klias, 3. 
Willard, .losiah. 50. 
Williams (■<.ll("trc, 111. 
Williams, .lohii Cliandler, .50, 51, .52. 
Williams, Mrs. .John Chandler, 28, 127. 
Williams, Cnl. William, 10, 11. 
Willis, Nathan, 51, .52, 127". 
Willis, Mrs. Lucy, 127. 
Wilson, .James, 121. 
Wilson, Solomon, 127. 
White, David, 07. 

White, Mrs. Elizabeth (Allen). 08. 70, 120. 
White, Enoch, 50, 97. 
M'hitney, Appleton, .50. 
Whitney, Mrs. Mercy Partridge, 128. 
Wiiitnev. Samuel, 0(;. 
Wood, Moses H., 60. 
\\'oodl>ri(lgc, Uev. Timothy, 10. 
Wrii,'lil, .losiah, 10, 11. 
Wriglit, Titus, .50. 



Yeomans, Rev. Alfred, Rev. .lohn Wil- 
liams Yeoman s, 75. 

Yeomans, George, 76. 

Yeomans, Hf.v. .John Williams, by /iV ?•. 
Alfred Yeomans, 75. 

Yeomans, ll< r. .lohn Williams, 14, 71, 123. 

Youmans, Jlrv. .lohn Williams (misprinted 
for Yeomans), 14, 71. 

Young Men's Working League, 62. 



^tr 9 1901 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 079 143 A 



